High-end MacBook Pro buyers may finally be getting close to the M5 generation.
Apple hasn’t said a word yet, but its online store is starting to do the talking.
M4 Max MacBook Pros now ship weeks later
MacRumors spotted that several top-end MacBook Pro configurations are no longer available for immediate delivery. If you spec a 14‑inch or 16‑inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Max chip today, Apple now quotes delivery dates between February 3 and February 24, depending on the exact config.
Many M4 Pro configurations, by contrast, are still available for same‑day or next‑day shipping. You only start to see extra delays if you add upgrades like more RAM or the nano‑texture display.
That split is notable. In past years, when shipping times for specific models quietly drifted out by weeks, it often meant Apple had already started winding down production ahead of a hardware refresh. It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a familiar pattern.
The most obvious reading: Apple is clearing the runway for M5 Pro and M5 Max versions of the 14‑ and 16‑inch MacBook Pro, after only refreshing the low‑end 14‑inch model with a base M5 last year.
January 28 is a natural launch window
There’s also a convenient date on Apple’s calendar. The company recently announced Creator Studio, a new subscription bundle aimed squarely at solo YouTubers, podcasters, and other indie creators.
For $13 per month or $130 per year, Creator Studio packages:
- Final Cut Pro
- Logic Pro
- Pixelmator Pro
- Enhancements for Pages, Numbers, and Keynote
- Plus a handful of smaller extras
None of these apps requires a MacBook Pro, but all of them scale up nicely with more CPU and GPU cores, more RAM, and faster storage — precisely what the high‑end MacBook Pros offer.
Apple could easily decide to pair the rollout of Creator Studio with new M5 Pro/Max laptops on January 28, turning a software subscription launch into a broader creator‑focused push.
Not just supply chain noise
There is another plausible explanation for the delays: components. The broader PC industry is still wrestling with AI‑driven demand for RAM, and Apple has every reason to prioritize its most common chips — the base M4 and M5 — over the larger, more expensive Max variants when memory is tight.
But there’s a wrinkle. The Mac Studio is currently the only other Mac that uses the M4 Max and offers similar RAM options. Those desktops are not seeing the same multi‑week shipping slips right now.
If RAM shortages were the only story, you’d expect the Mac Studio to be hit as well. The fact that only the MacBook Pro line is constrained points back to the simpler explanation: Apple is preparing to swap those laptops out.
2026 could be a heavy Mac refresh year
The M5 MacBook Pros would be landing in a Mac lineup that’s unusually out of sync.
Only the low‑end 14‑inch MacBook Pro picked up an M5 last year. That’s a huge contrast with the M3 and M4 waves, which hit all MacBook Pros, plus the iMac and Mac mini, in tight clusters.
As of early 2026, that leaves a long list of Macs still waiting on an M5‑series refresh:
- High‑end MacBook Pro (M4 Pro / M4 Max today)
- MacBook Air
- Mac mini
- iMac
- Mac Studio
- Mac Pro tower
Historically, Apple has had no problem skipping a chip generation for some models, especially desktops, in the Apple Silicon era. The MacBook Pro and Air lines tend to march in lockstep with each new chip family, but desktop Macs have already sat out at least one generation each since Apple Silicon debuted.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has also reported that the Mac Pro is effectively on life support. Even if Apple delivers an M5 Ultra for the Mac Studio, there’s no guarantee the Mac Pro — currently stuck on M2 Ultra — will get the same silicon.
A new low-end Mac is also looming
At the other end of the lineup, Apple is rumored to be readying an entirely new entry‑level Mac built around an iPhone‑class A‑series processor instead of an M‑series chip.
This machine is said to be a straight successor to the M1 MacBook Air that Apple itself stopped selling long ago but still lives on at Walmart in the US for $599. The big‑box retailer currently lists that model as having “low stock.”
If the rumor mill is right, the replacement would:
- Keep the familiar 13‑inch form factor
- Likely stick to 8GB of RAM, modest by 2026 standards
- Undercut the base M4 MacBook Air by around $400
That price point would give Apple a true budget Mac laptop again — something aimed at buyers who today default to cheap Windows notebooks or Chromebooks.
Put it all together, and the picture that emerges is a Mac lineup on the cusp of major change: high‑end MacBook Pros poised for M5 Pro/Max chips, desktops waiting in the wings for their own M5 turn, and a new ultra‑low‑end Mac to mop up the bottom of the market. If Apple’s shipping cues are anything to go by, the first domino may fall sooner rather than later.
