- A huge leak has revealed Apple’s Mac plans for the next 18 months
- It contains data on close to 20 upcoming Mac desktops and MacBooks
- There are a few intriguing surprises nestled inside the leak
Apple is known for keeping its upcoming products a closely-guarded secret, but that doesn’t stop information leaking out from its fortress-like walls. That’s just happened again, and this time a mother lode of Mac data has seemingly emerged from inside the company’s labs.
This leak comes from AppleInsider, and the news outlet says it sourced it from “our own data and information shared with us.” It includes records on close to 20 of the best Macs that Apple is set to release over the next year or so, giving us a rare sneak peek at the company’s future plans.
AppleInsider’s sources shared product codenames and other related information, which AppleInsider has used to piece together what might be on the menu. In some cases, this takes the form of simple common sense: Apple is planning to upgrade all of its MacBooks to the M5 chip series, for example.
There are a few interesting tidbits, though, such as AppleInsider’s contention that an M5 iMac might be in the works, alongside a new Mac Pro with either an M3 Ultra or M5 Ultra chip. Both the iMac and the Mac Pro have gone years without a significant upgrade.
We can also glean an intriguing detail about Apple’s M6 MacBook Pro, which is likely to launch in late 2026. Rumors have claimed that this could come with an extensive hardware overhaul (including an OLED display), but the device’s alleged identifier numbers – K114 and K116 – imply that the laptop might retain its current size options.
If the 14 and 16 in K114 and K116 correspond to screen measurements, that suggests that the M6 MacBook Pro could be keeping its current 14-inch and 16-inch options.
Nearly 20 new Macs in the works
Almost all of the report’s device codenames could be matched with existing devices based on past releases.
For instance, the Mac mini with M4 Pro chip used the J773s model number, so the new J873s codename in AppleInsider’s data likely corresponds to an M5 Pro variant. Yet there was one mysterious device that could not be identified, and AppleInsider speculates that it could be the much-rumored MacBook powered by Apple’s A18 chip. Time will tell on that one.
Besides the expected models we’ve discussed above, AppleInsider’s report omitted model identifiers for a few Macs you’d expect to see. While the outlet discussed the Mac mini with M5 Pro chip, for example, it says it was not informed about the entry-level M5 Mac mini – although it added that this device is surely a given if the M5 Pro model is also in development.
There’s a lot of data to sift through in AppleInsider’s report, so we’ve put it into a table below for simple viewing. We’ve included predicted release dates alongside the Mac models, although these are only estimates and could change over time. The table only includes devices with identifier numbers provided by AppleInsider, so variants like the M5 Mac mini are not present.
|
Mac model |
Predicted release date |
|---|---|
|
Mac mini (M5 Pro) |
2025 |
|
iMac (M5) |
2025 |
|
14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro) |
Fall 2025 |
|
14-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Max) |
Fall 2025 |
|
16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Pro) |
Fall 2025 |
|
16-inch MacBook Pro (M5 Max) |
Fall 2025 |
|
Mac Pro (first variant, likely with Ultra chip) |
Late 2025 |
|
Mac Pro (second variant, likely with Ultra chip) |
Late 2025 |
|
Mac Studio (Max chip) |
2026 |
|
Mac Studio (Ultra chip) |
2026 |
|
13-inch MacBook Air (M5) |
Early 2026 |
|
15-inch MacBook Air (M5) |
Early 2026 |
|
14-inch MacBook Pro (M6 Pro) |
Late 2026 |
|
14-inch MacBook Pro (M6 Max) |
Late 2026 |
|
16-inch MacBook Pro (M6 Pro) |
Late 2026 |
|
16-inch MacBook Pro (M6 Max) |
Late 2026 |
|
MacBook (A18 Pro) |
? |
As this is all merely rumored information, we’ll have to wait to see how accurate it proves to be. Much of it lines up with previous reports, though, so it might not be entirely wide of the mark – which makes it a handy resource if you’re thinking of upgrading your Mac in the near future.
Leave a comment