Apple's future-gen M6, M7, M8 chips in development: up to 256-core CPU, 640-core GPU teased

Apple is reportedly working on next-gen M5, M6, M7, and M8 processors which will pack up to an insane 256-core CPU, and a bonkers 640-core GPU.

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Anthony Garreffa

Gaming Editor

Published May 9, 2025 7:25 AM CDT

2 minutes & 45 seconds read time

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TL;DR: Apple is developing next-gen M6, M7, and M8 processors featuring up to 256 CPU cores and 640 GPU cores, significantly surpassing current M3 Ultra specs. These advanced M-series chips aim to enhance AI processing for Apple Intelligence tasks, marking a major leap in Apple Silicon performance and efficiency.

Apple's new M5 processors will be launching later this year, but the company is cooking up its next-gen M6, M7, and M8 processors with up to a game-changing 256 CPU cores, and an even more impressive 640 GPU cores.

Apple's future-gen M6, M7, M8 chips in development: up to 256-core CPU, 640-core GPU teased 24

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In a new report from industry insider Mark Gurman on Bloomberg, we're hearing Apple is working on several new M-series processors including the M6 (codenamed Komodo), M7 (codenamed Borneo) and also another, more advanced Mac chip that is in development says Gurman, dubbed Sotra (this should be the M8).

Apple's new AI server chips have been rumored for a little while now, with Gurman writing that this could be the first processors "expressly made for that purpose". The new chips will help process Apple Intelligence requests remotely, and then feed the information back to consumers' iDevices.

Right now, Apple is performing its Apple Intelligence tasks using chips that it uses inside of its high-end Mac systems, including the higher-end M2 Ultra processor. Apple reportedly has an AI server project that uses a component that was developed by Broadcom, with the project dubbed Baltra.

Read more: Apple M3 Ultra: dual M3 Max with UltraFusion tech, monster-level Apple Silicon
Read more: Apple working on next-gen M6 chip for iPad Pro, custom C2 5G modem
Read more: Apple M5 chip enters mass production: for iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, Vision Pro successor

In his report, Gurman says that Apple is working on all sorts of different variants which have 2x, 4x, and 8x CPU and GPU cores than the company's M3 Ultra processor. Apple's M3 Ultra processor features a 32-core CPU and 80-core GPU, so with an 8x increase in CPU + GPU cores, we're looking at a monster 256 cores of CPU, and a huge 640 GPU cores.