Apple may have accidentally revealed its next-generation silicon roadmap. References to unreleased M5-family chips have been spotted inside the iOS 26.3 release candidate, suggesting new high-end Macs could be arriving sooner than expected.

The discovery was made by developer Nicolás Alvarez and shared by MacRumors. While digging through the iOS 26.3 RC, Alvarez found mentions of two Apple system-on-chips that do not match any currently shipping hardware.

Two unreleased chips show up in the beta

The code references two SoCs:

  • T6051 (H17C)
  • T6052 (H17D)

Apple’s internal naming conventions make these identifiers especially telling. The “17” aligns with the M5 generation, while the letter suffixes point to specific chip tiers.

Based on Apple’s past patterns:

  • C is used for Max chips
  • D is used for Ultra chips

That strongly suggests Apple is already testing an M5 Max and an M5 Ultra.

The M5 Pro is notably missing

What makes this leak more interesting is what isn’t there. There’s no sign of T6050 (H17S), which would normally represent an M5 Pro chip.

That absence raises a few possibilities:

  • The M5 Pro exists but simply hasn’t been added to iOS 26.3 yet
  • Apple is adjusting its internal chip numbering
  • Apple could be planning MacBook Pro models that jump straight to Max and Ultra tiers

None of these are confirmed, but the omission is hard to ignore, especially with MacBook Pro refreshes expected this year.

Suggested: M5 Max MacBook Pro Geekbench Scores Could Rival Desktop CPUs

Apple’s past chip patterns back this up

Apple has been remarkably consistent with its chip lettering:

  • M1 Max, M2 Max, M3 Max, and M4 Max all used “C”
  • M1 Ultra, M2 Ultra, and M3 Ultra all used “D”
  • There was no M4 Ultra, making this M5 Ultra reference even more notable

In other words, these identifiers fit Apple’s historical behavior almost perfectly.

What this likely means

While iOS betas are not official product announcements, Apple rarely leaves detailed hardware references in shipping code without reason. Combined with recent rumors, this leak suggests that higher-end M5 Macs are already deep into internal testing.

If Apple follows its usual timeline, M5 Pro, and M5 Max-powered MacBook Pro models may be closer than many expected.

For now, Apple hasn’t commented on the discovery. But with each beta release, the picture around the M5 lineup is becoming a little clearer.

Categorized in:

Apple, Mac, News,

Last Update: February 5, 2026

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