2026 Apple Devices

[jaberg]

Seems crazy to basically kill sales of those lines for a prolonged period

I’m not sure it kills much in the way of sales overall. My future self (and those like me) excepted, Studios tend to go to people who need the tool. Businesses/professionals who can’t afford to hold out for the next great thing. That market doesn’t pay much attention to release cycles. They buy out of need, or out of respect to their own fiscal year and amortization schedule.

I hope Gurman is wrong, but will not be surprised if he proves correct.

 

[japtor]

Funny, WWDC begins June 8. Go figure...

I really hope Gurman is wrong on this one.

They could announce it at WWDC...certainly wouldn't be the first time they've announced something a few months ahead of launch, although I can't remember if they've done any longer leads like that lately off the top of my head.

Speaking of shortages though, I recently ordered MB Neos for my parents, estimated ship about 2-3 weeks out. And my friend recently looked for a base Mac mini, those are just gone too (late May-June at Apple), only stock anywhere seems to be Best Buy open boxes.

 

[Vincent Hanna]

Apple will protect the iPhones, iPads, MacBook Neos, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs at all costs, in that order.

I'm sure that Apple hates not being able to fill desktop orders just as local LLMs are increasing demand for them, but their sales are still a rounding error.

And now the cancellation of the Mac Pro has to be viewed in this context. Hard to release a super duper tower when you don't have enough RAM for Mac minis.

 

[JohnCarter17]

Yet we are still stuck in the loop of Full ATX boards being the most popular route to housing one card (the GPU).

I only wanted a GPU slot but I still ended up buying full ATX because that is where the decent affordable MBs were...

Did the most recent cards get that much longer?
My last build (2017) was Micro ATX, Asrock X99 Fatal1ty MB which has a MSI 970 board.

 

[JohnCarter17]

I had to return my brand-new 16-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max today...

It had a problem with the screen. On the right and left sides of it, right above the two vents, discoloration spots were beginning to grow. I noticed it a few days ago when doing some rendering work. When the fans were blasting at 100% trying to manage the heat, I saw these two spots. Once the render finished and the machine cooled down, the screen completely returned to normal.

But yesterday evening, after some heavy work, I noticed the same two spots weren't totally gone once the machine cooled down again. Hints of discoloration remained when displaying tones of gray and some other colors. I know what it could mean long term...

So today I returned it. I loved the performance of the M5 Max SO MUCH! It was perfect for my use cases. But the damn thing can get scorching hot when you do work that taxes the CPU/GPU. I don't have specific figures to give, but during some multi-hour renders I touched the screen right above the vents and it was burning hot. No wonder it can be affected by the heat.

I was doing heavy work on my M2 Max MBP before buying the new MacBook, and it never reached these temps. I don't know if I got a bad screen on the M5 MBP (seriously, I doubt it), but I decided not to risk it and just returned the whole thing since I was within the return period.

But I'm so bummed out! The performance was PERFECT!

So I guess a Studio might be more appropriate for my work, then? Let's wait and see. I just checked, and if the prices don't increase too much when the M5-based Studios are released, I could probably get the same specs I had with the M5 Max MBP for quite a bit less money.

The only thing is that I don't have a monitor, and I kind of don't want to buy one. Anybody has experience with running a Mac Studio completely headless? I guess I could use it from my current M2 MBP. I know Screen Sharing works very well, I use it regularly to manage a few headless machines I have, but it's mainly for maintenance and light stuff. I don't know how it would be if the headless machine was more or less my main driver.

So back to my trusty M2 Max, then! But I'll really, really miss the performance of the M5....

Were you running it in clamshell mode?

Edit: Ok, rereading, I think not.

 

[nytta0]

Were you running it closed?

I was using the screen of the MacBook since I don't have an external monitor. So the laptop was always open.

 

[JohnCarter17]

Apple will protect the iPhones, iPads, MacBook Neos, MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs at all costs, in that order.

I'm sure that Apple hates not being able to fill desktop orders just as local LLMs are increasing demand for them, but their sales are still a rounding error.

And now the cancellation of the Mac Pro has to be viewed in this context. Hard to release a super duper tower when you don't have enough RAM for Mac minis.

Over at MacRumors, there is a discussion about sold out Mac Studios.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-studio-sold-out-everywhere.2479073/

One of the most interesting things was this breakdown of Apple Mac sales for 2023.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...book-air-overwhelmingly-drive-apple-mac-sales

 

[Hap]

Did the most recent cards get that much longer?
My last build (2017) was Micro ATX, Asrock X99 Fatal1ty MB which has a MSI 970 board.

5090 Examples:

• ASUS: 348 x 146 x 72 mm
• Nvidia: 304 x 137 x 2slot

 

[dmsilev]

Over at MacRumors, there is a discussion about sold out Mac Studios.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-studio-sold-out-everywhere.2479073/

One of the most interesting things was this breakdown of Apple Mac sales for 2023.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/2...book-air-overwhelmingly-drive-apple-mac-sales

Mac Pro was as high as 3%? I'm surprised. I guess 2023 is when it was updated (for the last time...), so there would have been a surge of sales. But even with that, "nearly on a par with the iMac" seems like a lot.

 

[Bonusround]

Mac Pro was as high as 3%? I'm surprised. I guess 2023 is when it was updated (for the last time...), so there would have been a surge of sales. But even with that, "nearly on a par with the iMac" seems like a lot.

One has to wonder which channels Consumer Intelligence Research Partners taps to gather its data.

 

[jaberg]

One has to wonder which channels Consumer Intelligence Research Partners taps to gather its data.

Alternatively, whatever “contract” Apple may have had that called for the update of the Pro was bigger than we speculated.

(Pure speculation — I’m not attaching any support to the idea. My bet would be that more Studios were rejected on the QC line than Pros were sold.)

 

[dal20402]

I think that chart, if it is accurate at all, has to be based on revenue rather than units. One well-equipped Mac Pro could be equal to three or four base Studios or MBPs.

I'd be skeptical of the accuracy of the desktop numbers, period, as supply-chain and after-sales intelligence on Mac desktops has uniformly been terrible, much worse than laptops.

 

[ScifiGeek]

Did the most recent cards get that much longer?
My last build (2017) was Micro ATX, Asrock X99 Fatal1ty MB which has a MSI 970 board.

What does that have to do with my point? Length of card has nothing to do ATX vs mATX vs ITX MB choice. You can use the most massive cards with ITX boards.

My point was to get best choice of affordable MBs you need to go full ATX.

There were far less choices of mATX, and even less for ITX.

 

[dmsilev]

I think that chart, if it is accurate at all, has to be based on revenue rather than units. One well-equipped Mac Pro could be equal to three or four base Studios or MBPs.

That would also explain MBPs outselling the Air by 25%. I could believe that by revenue, but not in terms of unit sales.

Either that, or it's a very skewed sample for whatever reason.

 

[dspariI]

The lack of CPU and size breakdown makes the chart a little misleading whether it is by revenue or somehow by unit. Plus, the base M Macbook Pro was still the Touch Bar model for most of 2023 so it was literally a completely different product than the Pro and Max even without any other category splitting. The Air is being sharing between two models but the MBP is by five which inflates its wedge too.

 

[wrylachlan]

I’ve been thinking about the new middle cores and wondering what they’re going to mean for A series chips. Traditionally A series chips have been 2 super cores and 4 efficiency cores (using the current naming for those core types). I could see them moving to just 1 super cores, 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. Trading off the second super core for 2 performance cores would give a boost to multithreaded workflows which is probably the right tradeoff for most current iPhone software.

And a move to just 1 super core in the A series would allow Apple to “lean in” to their super coreness - potentially bumping the power consumption a bit. My guess is that what we’ll see with the N2 node generation is:

• S cores take the 2nm dividend in pure performance and maybe even increase their power consumption.
• P cores take the 2nm dividend in performance holding power consumption steady or ever so slightly down.
• E cores take the 2nm dividend entirely in efficiency holding performance steady and substantially lowering power consumption.

What thinks the hive mind?

 

[Bonusround]

Makes a lot of sense; the core type distribution would mirror what we see on Android.

 

[JohnCarter17]

What does that have to do with my point? Length of card has nothing to do ATX vs mATX vs ITX MB choice. You can use the most massive cards with ITX boards.

My point was to get best choice of affordable MBs you need to go full ATX.

There were far less choices of mATX, and even less for ITX.

Nothing. I misinterpreted the post.

But hasn't the market always been that way, with the most produced cards being for the larger form factor. But aside from that, gaming builds drive the need for cooling, venting, pimping ostentation and ego display. All of which point to larger cases.

EDIT: YEAH! Found toggle BB code option.

Computer case numbers:

The Computer Cases Market represents a critical component of the global PC hardware ecosystem, supporting desktops, workstations, gaming PCs, and enterprise servers. In 2024, more than 275 million personal computers were shipped globally, and approximately 62% of desktop systems required dedicated computer cases for assembly and hardware integration. Gaming PCs account for nearly 21% of desktop installations, increasing demand for advanced airflow and RGB-compatible cases. Mid-tower models represent about 48% of total case installations, while full-tower cases contribute nearly 18%. The Computer Cases Market Analysis shows that more than 37% of cases sold include tempered glass panels, and nearly 44% support liquid cooling systems, indicating growing demand for performance-oriented hardware enclosures.

The United States Computer Cases Market remains a significant contributor to global demand due to strong gaming, enterprise IT infrastructure, and custom PC assembly culture. In 2024, the United States accounted for approximately 31% of North American desktop PC installations, with over 38 million desktop units actively deployed across corporate offices, data centers, and gaming environments. Around 46% of PC builders in the U.S. prefer mid-tower cases, while 27% choose compact mini-tower configurations for home offices. High-performance gaming builds represent roughly 22% of custom PC assemblies in the country. Additionally, nearly 41% of PC enthusiasts in the U.S. purchase aftermarket computer cases, highlighting strong demand within the Computer Cases Market Research Report.

KEY FINDINGS
Key Market Driver: Approximately 63% of computer case demand is influenced by gaming PC adoption, while 48% growth in DIY PC assembly contributes significantly to market expansion additionally 35% of enterprise infrastructure upgrades and 29% workstation deployments further accelerate Computer Cases Market Growth globally.
Major Market Restraint: Nearly 42% of potential buyers prefer compact laptops, reducing desktop hardware adoption; about 37% of small businesses migrate to cloud computing, while 26% of users rely on mini-PC devices, limiting traditional computer case demand across several commercial segments.
Emerging Trends: Around 44% of new computer cases support liquid cooling, 39% integrate tempered glass panels, 33% include RGB lighting compatibility, and 27% offer modular cable management, demonstrating strong innovation trends shaping the Computer Cases Market Outlook.

Source: https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/computer-cases-market-100431

__________________

The motherboard market size is projected to expand from USD 13.21 billion in 2025 and USD 15.66 billion in 2026 to USD 25.66 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 10.38% between 2026 to 2031. Growing AI-centric server rollouts are lifting average selling prices for high-layer server boards even as the consumer segment grapples with DDR5 cost swings. Socket transitions to AMD AM5 and Intel LGA-1851 are compressing upgrade windows, while industrial buyers shift toward ruggedized designs that tolerate harsh environments. Asia-Pacific continues to anchor volume through Taiwan’s ODM cluster and China’s contract-manufacturing base, yet the Middle East is emerging as the fastest-growing region as digital-infrastructure investments accelerate. Component tariffs, multi-layer PCB skill shortages, and second-hand board availability temper near-term demand but do not derail the long-run trajectory of the motherboard market.

Key Report Takeaways

By form factor, ATX led with 45.28% of the motherboard market share in 2025, while Mini-ITX is projected to advance at a 10.41% CAGR through 2031.
By end-user industry, consumer and DIY builders held 38.72% of 2025 revenue, whereas industrial and embedded applications are poised to expand at a 10.44% CAGR up to 2031.
By CPU platform, Intel boards commanded 51.57% of shipments in 2025; RISC-V solutions are forecast to grow at a 10.49% CAGR during 2026-2031.
By application, desktop PCs accounted for 42.64% of demand in 2025, yet edge-AI and IoT gateways are set to rise at a 10.58% CAGR over the same horizon.
By geography, Asia-Pacific captured 36.71% of 2025 value, while Middle East is on track for a 10.52% CAGR through 2031.

Source: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/motherboard-market

from: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/motherboard-market

 

[Bonusround]

Re: ATX vs mATX, the smaller board can result in a much smaller case – if that's something that matters. You're right there are fewer choices with mATX, but what's there looks equally affordable.

 

[ScifiGeek]

Re: ATX vs mATX, the smaller board can result in a much smaller case – if that's something that matters. You're right there are fewer choices with mATX, but what's there looks equally affordable.

My observation on MBs, at least during the last time I delved:

Full ATX has best options/value for all price segments. low, mid, high or Extreme.
mATX tends to focus on cheap low end boards, with weaker choices elsewhere.
ITX focuses on expensive boards for boutique builds, with weaker choices elsewhere.

I would have bought mATX if had better value/features than the full ATX board, but it didn't. Not even close.

 

[Bonusround]

My observation on MBs, at least during the last time I delved:

Full ATX has best options/value for all price segments. low, mid, high or Extreme.
mATX tends to focus on cheap low end boards, with weaker choices elsewhere.
ITX focuses on expensive boards for boutique builds, with weaker choices elsewhere.

I would have bought mATX if had better value/features than the full ATX board, but it didn't. Not even close.

Understood. I place a premium on compactness so I'm admittedly coming from a different perspective. More 'SFF' cases are now being designed to support mATX, which as you note can be quite a savings over ITX.

Still, compared to what one could expect from a midrange MB a dozen years ago it feels like we're being fleeced today. And honestly many modern CPUs are designed to run without chipsets, if only allowed to. I'd love to get to a place where MBs are just ports, sockets, a ROM, and the requisite power regulation. Get rid of the crazy branding and fashion show materials. <sigh>

 

[cateye]

If only there were somewhere to discuss PC motherboards...

(I re-read the last couple pages to see where this sidetrack came from and how it might be germane to the overall conversation but I'm not seeing it. If I'm wrong, let's bring it back to Apple in a more obvious way over the next few posts, plz)

 

[thomahawk]

Count me in with the "cash stashed for new Studio" crew. +1 crossed finger for Gurman being misled. October would be a huge bummer. What does that do to the MBPs, wouldn't they virtually be on M6 by then? Feels v weird to have new products be out of sync with each other. :|

 

[wrylachlan]

Count me in with the "cash stashed for new Studio" crew. +1 crossed finger for Gurman being misled. October would be a huge bummer. What does that do to the MBPs, wouldn't they virtually be on M6 by then? Feels v weird to have new products be out of sync with each other. :|

I mean they released the M3 Ultra Studio well after the M4 was released, so there’s precedent… but yeah, not ideal.

 

[Bonusround]

Count me in with the "cash stashed for new Studio" crew. +1 crossed finger for Gurman being misled. October would be a huge bummer. What does that do to the MBPs, wouldn't they virtually be on M6 by then? Feels v weird to have new products be out of sync with each other. :|

Gurman is now saying new MBPs in 2027.

 

[japtor]

I’ve been thinking about the new middle cores and wondering what they’re going to mean for A series chips. Traditionally A series chips have been 2 super cores and 4 efficiency cores (using the current naming for those core types). I could see them moving to just 1 super cores, 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. Trading off the second super core for 2 performance cores would give a boost to multithreaded workflows which is probably the right tradeoff for most current iPhone software.

And a move to just 1 super core in the A series would allow Apple to “lean in” to their super coreness - potentially bumping the power consumption a bit. My guess is that what we’ll see with the N2 node generation is:

• S cores take the 2nm dividend in pure performance and maybe even increase their power consumption.
• P cores take the 2nm dividend in performance holding power consumption steady or ever so slightly down.
• E cores take the 2nm dividend entirely in efficiency holding performance steady and substantially lowering power consumption.

What thinks the hive mind?

Feels about right for the A chips, I'm more curious about the base M chips though, 2s/4p/4e? Or follow the lead of the Pro/Max and ditch the efficiency cores and do like 2s/8p? Or some tweener like 2s/6p/2e?

...or just stick with the S+E setup as the current chips did with P cores being exclusive to the bigger chips?

Count me in with the "cash stashed for new Studio" crew. +1 crossed finger for Gurman being misled. October would be a huge bummer. What does that do to the MBPs, wouldn't they virtually be on M6 by then? Feels v weird to have new products be out of sync with each other. :|

M4 was May '24, M5 was October '25, almost an 18 month cadence I'd expect based off previous generations (going back to pre M chips)...besides the M3's short blip. So I'd expect M6 to be like a spring '27 launch perhaps.

 

[Hap]

Count me in with the "cash stashed for new Studio" crew. +1 crossed finger for Gurman being misled. October would be a huge bummer. What does that do to the MBPs, wouldn't they virtually be on M6 by then? Feels v weird to have new products be out of sync with each other. :|

So what y’all are telling me is that I need to distract all of you with fictional new Apple product launch while I place my Studio order

 

[Matey-O]

I could see them moving to just 1 super cores, 2 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores.

If anyone was interested in maximizing custom chips tailored to end user use cases, it's Apple (Media Engine, etc)

Re: ATX vs mATX, the smaller board can result in a much smaller case

Smaller the case, generally the harder the thermal management, double so with big GPUs.

I specified full sized PCs in the AI lab with the expectation that there'd be cheaper AI only cards in the next 5 years. That was before the massive Datacenter Landgrab Falderall

So what y’all are telling me is that I need to distract all of you with fictional new Apple product launch while I place my Studio order

Line forms right here, behind me.

 

[Bonusround]

So what y’all are telling me is that I need to distract all of you with fictional new Apple product launch while I place my Studio order

What's that... Gurman whispering with Bloomberg execs about an M5 AppleTV VR Home Robot??

 

[wrylachlan]

What's that... Gurman whispering with Bloomberg execs about an M5 AppleTV VR Home Robot??

The one with the micro-LED screen and high bandwidth memory?

 

[Bonusround]

The one with the micro-LED screen and high bandwidth memory?

Its SoC will employ twenty-seven chiplets 3D-stacked in a toroidal mesh.

 

[lloyddean]

… and a Dyson like fanless fan?

 

[cbum]

Double Helix or nothing.

 

[MrElbbiw]

All future desktop models will look like the Connection Machine CM-2.

 

[dmsilev]

Huh. Base Mac Mini Sold Out From Apple Online Store

Some mid-tier models are still in stock. That's a surprise; I'd have naively guessed that the base models would be most popular outside of the current AI fad, with said fad drastically increasing demand for the higher-RAM models. If Apple already is tapering down production to clear out stock before a new model is released, that would argue against the "October" rumor.

We're all just guessing at this point.

 

[Vincent Hanna]

They're tapering down production so that the strangled RAM supply can be allocated to the new M5s.

Will be very strange if this continues all the way to October.

 

[Bonusround]

They're tapering down production so that the strangled RAM supply can be allocated to the new M5s.

Except the M5 uses differently-spec'd RAM.

 

[wrylachlan]

Except the M5 uses differently-spec'd RAM.

Yup. I think the right way to think about it is that the lead time for RAM is long and it’s expensive. So Apple doesn’t want people ordering a box today only to have the M5 version come out before they get it. That leads to a return and Apple sitting on expensive RAM.

And part of it might also be that the with all their use in AI, Mac Mini and Mac Studio have maybe been more successful than they anticipated. They always try to plan their orders such that they don’t run out too far in advance of the next release while also trying not to have too much unsold inventory. It could simply be that the AI boom threw off their estimates.

 

[thomahawk]

Not to come in with an ill-informed doomer take based on a half-remembered unsourced talk, but I am an expert on this topic because I listened to a podcast 2 weeks ago with some guy who's a chip fab research specialist in the finance sector, and he was saying that basically yeah, the hyperscale data centre build-out deals have resulted in a situation where basically no consumer devices anywhere are going to make the cut for RAM for the next 2-3 years, so get used to using your old phone for a while longer, and/or paying 10x for any electronic component with RAM in it. (It was this ep, if you're curious (and it's on real podcasts too not just youtube); this is the guy's post talking about it in more detail, although the full thing is paywalled).

Tongue slightly out of my cheek, I do think "we're all just guessing" is the right attitude to take; the industry is very much in uncharted territory and it's pretty hard to predict the first- and second- order effects.

Long story short I'm just gonna hope that the time zone gap between "Apple announcing M5 Studios in PDT timezone" and "me waking up in AEST" isn't long enough for them to sell out months worth of demand. ¯\(ツ)/¯

 

[iPilot05]

When the Neo was launched I half-seriously considered Apple would toss the CPU into the mini as a new low-end model. With the base mini showing out of stock that theory may be back on the table. On the other other hand, with the Neo proving to be a hit perhaps Apple doesn't have enough A18s to go into this low-end Mini and is now left without a good cheap option given the RAM issues at the moment.