Apple’s canceled car project is powering the next-gen M7 AI chips
Apple is reportedly shifting its silicon strategy by skipping the M6 Pro and Max processors to fast-track the development of its AI-focused M7 chip series. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the base M7 is expected to debut in early 2027, followed by the M7 Pro and Max later that year, and the M7 Ultra in 2028. This rapid acceleration in AI hardware development was made possible by recycling technology from Apple's canceled self-driving car project. The advanced AI components originally designed for the vehicle's autonomous systems became the foundational architecture for Apple's modern Neural Engine. This hardware pivot allows Apple to push for faster, highly secure on-device AI processing, which it views as a major privacy-focused differentiator against cloud-dependent competitors.