Providing Apple doesn't suffer from a component scarcity
Apple is apparently planning to update the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros as early as this fall, less than a year after their introduction. The company is already working on M2 versions of the 14- and 16-inch models, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in response to a reader query in his most recent Power On newsletter (via 9to5Mac).
The two machines' features and designs are "expected to stay basically the same," according to Gurman, since Apple only updated the line's design last year to include MagSafe charging, more ports, and better screens. The M2 versions of the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors that the company now sells through its existing models will be the main difference.
In terms of the next SoCs, Gurman predicted that the graphics side will receive a lot of attention, similar to how it did with the regular M2. The 10-core GPU version of the 2022 MacBook Air offers a 35 percent higher graphics performance.
Even though Gurman claims Apple may postpone the launch of the new MacBook Pros until the spring of 2023, the corporation is said to be hoping to do it in the fall. It's difficult to forecast with precision when these will appear on store shelves given the ongoing supply-chain difficulties, he said. Apple has a "deluge" of items it wants to introduce during the next year, including new Macs. Gurman stated that the company was also developing a new HomePod and an Apple Watch for extreme sports in a recent newsletter.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman writes in the most recent issue of his Power On newsletter that Apple is developing improvements for the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, which were just released last October. With the exception of the speedier chips, the new laptops are anticipated to "remain nearly the same" and might be released as early as this fall.
That would be a far more accelerated release schedule. After roughly 18 months, Apple updated the M1 MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the M2 Mac mini is most likely to be delayed for close to two years. Additionally, the M1 iMac has been available for more than a year and is not anticipated to receive an M2 upgrade until 2023.
But it might make sense for Apple to release Pro updates more quickly. Professional users tend to be more demanding and to change their equipment more frequently. Additionally, a quicker cycle would clear up any misunderstandings between the premium M1 chips and the entry-level M2 chips, which are far slower despite having a higher number.
The M2 Pro and M2 Max are anticipated to concentrate "on the graphics side," just like the M2 chip did. This suggests that the chips' core counts will increase, going from 14 and 16 in the M1 Pro to 18 and 20 in the M2 Pro, and from 24 and 32 in the M1 Max to 30 and 38 in the M2 Max. A big performance improvement over the present generation would most likely result from that. A 3nm die process, as opposed to the M2's 5nm, is said to be used in the higher-end processors.
Additionally, the M2 Pro and Max's CPU cores might benefit. Apple preserved the base M2 chip's 8-core CPU, but speculations claim the company may be designing 12-core M2 Pro and M2 Max chips for an even bigger speed gain. In benchmarks, the M2 outperformed the M1 by about 20 percent. Of course, the M2 Pro would run faster with more cores.
