Apple’s Q1 2026 forecast has warned that Macs will see a tough compare year-over-year to end the year since just about the entire consumer and prosumer Mac lines were updated in time for the 2024 holiday quarter, versus one model refresh before for 2025.

Only one MacBook Pro got an update in October 2025

Only one MacBook Pro got an update in October 2025
Rewind to October 2024, and Apple has just revealed the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max to be used in all models of MacBook Pro. It was a surprise to see all the chipsets at once, and that bundle of hardware sold well through the holiday quarter.
According to SVP Kevan Parekh during Apple’s quarterly earnings call, Apple expects the upcoming Q1 2026 to be a tough compare for Mac. That’s simply due to Apple releasing only one updated Mac in the fall — the MacBook Pro with M5.