Apple is reportedly working on nine new Macs with their upcoming M2 processors, according to Bloombergis Mark Gurman. These rumors get hot on the heels of Apple releasing the Mac Studio, and its announcement that the M1 Ultra would be the last chip in its current gen series.
Bloomberg does not anticipate a replacement for Studio yet, but it reports that most other Mac models will get an upgrade. Gurman says he has seen evidence of an M2-powered MacBook Air with a 10-core GPU – contrary to previous predictions that a redesigned Air would still have an M1 – as well as a beginner-level M2 MacBook Pro with the same specifications . The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros are also popping up, along with a new Mac Mini and Mac Pro, all rocking next-generation Apple silicon.
A Mac Mini with the current generation M1 Pro also emerged, though it’s hard to imagine it coming to market now that Mac Studio exists.
The advanced machines will reportedly have M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, where Max has 12 CPU cores and 38 graphics cores (two CPU and six GPU cores extra compared to the current M1 Max). Bloomberg does not include details on the breakdown of efficiency and performance cores. The M2 Pro also emerges as an option for the Mac Mini, and Gurman predicts that the Mac Pro will have a “successor to the M1 Ultra.”
(By the way, if you’re trying to figure out how this counts up to nine computers, as I did in the beginning, it’s a MacBook Air, an entry-level Pro, two Mini models, two models each of 14 and 16-inch MBP – with Pro and Max chips respectively – and desktop Pro.)
It’s exciting that the entry-level MacBook Pro can go on and still barely separate from the Air. Every time I discuss laptops with my colleagues, they usually predict that Apple will quietly stop the 13-inch model as it acts as an unhappy medium between the Air and the 14-inch Pro. It’s also a bit of an outlier with its Touch Bar, but it’s an open question whether the sequel will have one – Bloomberg the report does not say.
Particularly absent from the list of computers is any kind of iMac. There is no mention of a successor to the M1-powered 24-inch all-in-one, or a replacement for the recently discontinued 27-inch iMac.
Gurman says this wealth of information comes from developer logs that probably popped up because Apple tested its new computers using third-party apps. While it was not difficult to predict that Apple would work on the next generation of chips, it is exciting to see evidence of their existence out in the wild, and to get early details.
It may not be that long before an official announcement is made about at least a couple of these computers – Bloomberg reports that “at least two Macs” could be launched “around the middle of the year.” And would you not know that WWDC is on the calendar on June 6th.