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Latest macOS 26.3 beta adds to signs that new M5 MacBook Pros are imminent

If you’re among the growing number of users hoping to see updated MacBook Pro versions with new M5 chips sooner rather than later, today’s macOS 26.3 RC brings some great news. Here are the details.

M5 Max and M5 Ultra referenced

As reported by MacRumors, today’s macOS 26.3 Release Candidate build includes references to what are very likely two new M5 chips for upcoming MacBook Pro updates.

More specifically, macOS 26.3 RC includes internal references to two new SoC IDs, T6051 and T6052, which are tagged with platform codes H17C and H17D.

To make sense of these codes, here are the SoC IDs and platform codes Apple has used so far for all other M-series Apple Silicon chips:

ChipSoC IDPlatform code
M1T8103H13G
M1 ProT6000H13J or H13S
M1 MaxT6001H13J or H13C
M1 UltraT6002H13J or H13D
M2T8112H14G
M2 ProT6020H14S
M2 MaxT6021H14C
M2 UltraT6022H14D
M3T8122H15G
M3 ProT6030H15S
M3 MaxT6031 or T6034H15C or H15M
M3 UltraT6032H15D
M4T8132H16G
M4 ProT6040H16S
M4 MaxT6041H16C
M5T8142H17G

Based on this standard, it is likely that the T6051/H17C IDs refer to the upcoming M5 Max chip, while the T6052/H17D IDs refer to the M5 Ultra.

Interestingly, there seem to be no references to the M5 Pro chip (which should carry the T6050/H17S identifiers) yet, even though, at least in theory, the RC should be the exact same build that will roll out publicly when the release candidate becomes the final release.

What that means for the release timeline of the next MacBook Pros, we’ll likely find out sooner rather than later, as Bloomberg recently reported that the new models are “slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle”.

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Avatar for Marcus Mendes Marcus Mendes

Marcus Mendes is a Brazilian tech podcaster and journalist who has been closely following Apple since the mid-2000s.

He began covering Apple news in Brazilian media in 2012 and later broadened his focus to the wider tech industry, hosting a daily podcast for seven years.