In October 2021, Apple ushered within the “Professional” period of Apple Silicon with the debut of a newly redesigned 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional lineup that includes extra highly effective M1 Professional and M1 Max chips. Whereas the follow-up M2 Professional/Max fashions slipped into January 2023, that turned out to be the exception to a seemingly constant fall launch cycle.
The M2 Professional and M2 Max MacBooks turned out to have the shortest lifetime of any of Apple’s new MacBooks, discovering themselves phased out solely ten months after their launch when Apple unveiled a full lineup of M3 MacBook Professional fashions at an unusually whimsical October “Scary Quick” occasion held on October 30, 2023.
That occasion wasn’t simply notable for its darker setting and night timing. Apple additionally launched the House Black end for its latest MacBooks and welcomed the awkward stepbrother of the MacBook Professional household into the lineup as a full sibling, phasing out the legacy 13-inch MacBook Professional design that had been used for the M1 and M2 variations in favor of the 14-inch design of the M Professional-series fashions.
When Apple introduced its M4 MacBook Professional lineup on October 30, 2024 — a yr to the day after unveiling their predecessors, it appeared the corporate had settled on a reasonably fastened launch schedule, particularly when the M3 and M4 MacBook Air fashions equally arrived throughout the first week of March in 2023 and 2024. As a bonus, Apple’s M-series chip debuts align properly with the calendar yr.
The traditional knowledge was that Apple deliberate to repeat this with this yr’s M5 MacBook Professional lineup, which is predicted to be a equally minor refresh to what we’ve seen over the previous few years, that includes new chips and a few minor spec bumps in what has now turn out to be Apple’s customary design. An OLED MacBook Professional continues to be on the roadmap, however no person expects that to point out up till late 2026, on the earliest.
Nevertheless, if the newest rumors are correct, plainly Apple could also be throwing us one other curveball. In an anticipated roadmap of Apple’s 2026 releases offered by his regular sources, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reveals that Apple may plan on delaying the M5 MacBook Professional till 2026.
Oddly, Apple’s rationale for this doesn’t seem to have something to do with the readiness of the brand new MacBooks. As an alternative, Gurman suggests it’s about timing the releases to degree out its income stream.
“The brand new merchandise are a part of a push to get again to extra constant income development following this fall’s iPhone launch,” Gurman says, suggesting that Apple hasn’t correctly leveled off from the “pandemic-fueled gross sales surge” of some years in the past.
This will likely even be pushed by Apple’s plan to as soon as once more debut its newest M5 silicon on the iPad Professional, relatively than the MacBook, because it did final yr. An M5 iPad Professional continues to be on the roadmap for October, and Apple might wish to give it a while to delight in its M5 glory earlier than the M5-powered MacBooks present as much as steal the present.
There’s no phrase on when the M5 MacBook Professional lineup might arrive. Apple may repeat what it did in 2023 and launch them in January, however Gurman additionally says the “timing stays fluid,” so it’s attainable Apple hasn’t made up its thoughts but whether or not it’s even going to delay their launch, a lot much less for a way lengthy.
The timing for Apple’s subsequent MacBook Professional may additionally play into this. The M5 MacBook Professional is extensively anticipated to be the final of its variety earlier than Apple transitions to an OLED show, which can characteristic a brand new design which will comply with within the footsteps of the iPad Professional by way of thinness. The brand new display screen know-how and extra formidable design may end result within the M6 MacBook Professional lineup being slated for 2027.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]