Apple’s next-gen M2 MacBooks, Mac Mini and Mac Pro could be here sooner than you think
M1 was the practice ‘pancake’ it seems
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It looks as thoughApplehas some big plans for its freshly unveiled M2 chip in the coming months, with a recent batch of predictions suggesting we could get a full range of M2-powered hardware, including MacBooks, Mac Mini and Mac Pro within the next 12 months.As reported byMacRumors, this comes from trusted Apple analyst Mark Gurman via the latest edition of hisPower On newsletter, in which he outlines the predicted product release roadmap.
A range of Mac hardware was included alongside non-computing products such as theiPhone 14(which will allegedly include four models), and updated versions of theApple Watch,Homepodand evenApple TV, which suggests that Apple is going full-steaminto 2023 with essential its entire catalog.
We’ve already seen the base modelM2 chipreleased within both a newMacBook Airand a refreshed13-inch MacBook Pro, though if theM1chips timeline is anything to go by then we can also expect the14-inch MacBook Proand16-inch MacBook Proto contain M2 Pro and M2 Max versions of the new silicon, just as they were released withM1 Pro and M1 Max chips.
Gurman claims within the blog that there are also plans to release a refreshedMac Proalongside the M2 Ultra as an upgrade from theM1 Ultra, as well as an entirely new chip dubbed the M2 Extreme, though no additional information was provided about the planned architecture of anticipated performance.
In fact, there’s very little information about… well, any of these new SoCs (system-on-a-chip) so while Gurman has a good reputation behind him, don’t take any of these rumors as gospel. He does mention, however, that “these M2 products are likely to come in much quicker succession than the M1-based Macs did” so we can assume a shorter release timeline is in the works.
The newsletter also contained some familiar-sounding leaks, such as plans for anew iMac,an unnamed 12-inch laptop, a15-inch MacBook Airand plans to redesign the 13-inch MacBook Air, though according to Gurman, these will all contain Apple’s next-generation of in-development silicon, the M3.
Analysis: should I wait, or should I buy now?
There are a lot of product names being thrown around here and very little substance. Again, Gurman is a typically reliable source for these kinds of leaks, and it’s unlikely that Apple won’t be releasing new hardware within the next 12 months, but we should take it with a pinch of salt as Apple loves to be especially tight-lipped about its product development.
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In all, the timeline looks reasonable, though the inclusion of M3-powered hardware within the lineup could indicate that anticipated releases such as acolorful redesign of the MacBook Airwon’t make an appearance during the lifespan of the M2.
This also suggests that given the currentMacBook shipping delays, you might actually be better off waiting a few months to see if more powerful models of the M2 chip are released before snapping up a current model of the larger MacBook Pro laptops.
If the timeline is accurate, there’s a good chance that refreshed versions of the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro will be released by Q4 2022, just in time for Christmas, and even if that window is a little shaky, it’s very likely that if you did snap up a new MacBook for the holiday season it might be surpassed by the next generation of hardware within a few short weeks.
That said, this should only concern you if you like to be an early adopter of technology, or if you crave having the latest generation of hardware.
The current versions of the MacBook Pro lineup won’t be any less capable if an updated M2 model does make an appearance in the next few months, after all, and there are plenty of otherportable workstation laptopson the market if you wanted additional variety outside of the Apple ecosystem.
Jess is a former TechRadar Computing writer, where she covered all aspects of Mac and PC hardware, including PC gaming and peripherals. She has been interviewed as an industry expert for the BBC, and while her educational background was in prosthetics and model-making, her true love is in tech and she has built numerous desktop computers over the last 10 years for gaming and content creation. Jess is now a journalist at The Verge.
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