After Apple’s new iPad announcements last week, there’s only one other type of product that should get a refresh this year. The MacBook Pro is looking at product refreshes for the 14-inch and 16-inch versions featuring the unreleased M2 Pro and M2 Max System-on-Chip (SoC).
The M2 Pro and M2 Max are the likely successors of the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors that shipped with the redesigned MacBook Pro last year. Unsurprisingly, a leaker has details about these two chips ahead of Apple’s imminent launch.
That’s Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who also revealed a few tidbits about the more powerful M2-branded SoCs that will power the new Mac Pro.
Gurman addressed the new M2 chips in his latest Power On newsletter edition. He says Apple will unveil new Mac mini and MacBook Pro in the next several months.
On top of that, there’s the new Mac Pro. But that model won’t hit stores until 2023, according to the insider.
The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models will feature the M2 Pro and M2 Max chip configurations. The M2 Max will feature 12 CPU cores, including 8 performance and 4 efficiency cores. On the GPU side, we’re looking at 38 cores. Finally, the M2 Max will support up to 64GB of unified memory. Both MacBook Pro models will sport these features.
The current M1 Max chip packs a 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and up to 64GB of memory.
Gurman said the Mac mini will get the same M2 chip as the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro. An M2 Pro variant might also be available to buyers.
The Mac Pro should deliver the best possible M2 experience, featuring chip variants that are anywhere from twice to four times as powerful as the M2 Max. Apple will use new marketing names for the chips which have not leaked. Gurman calls them M2 Ultra and M2 Extreme. He speculates that Apple will pack 24 to 48 CPU cores, 76 to 152 GPU cores, and up to 256GB of memory on these machines.
Apparently, the iPhone maker has been testing a particular Mac Pro configuration. We’re looking at a model with 24 CPU cores: 16 are performance cores, and 8 are efficiency cores. On the GPU side, the computer has 76 cores. Finally, it runs on 192GB of RAM. The desktop runs on macOS Venture 13.3 rather than the Ventura 13.0 release that will be available to Mac users on Monday.
The Bloomberg reporter noted that Apple could roll out the M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pro and Mac mini in the coming months. Apple introduces new devices in November, January, and the spring. Recently, Gurman said the new MacBook Pro models are coming in the near future. Before that, he offered a launch estimate ranging between fall 2022 and spring 2023.
Considering Apple’s previous release cycles, November seems like a likely month for the new computers. The M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros launched about a year ago. A year before that, Apple unveiled the first M1 MacBooks.
More Mac coverage: For more Mac news, visit our MacBook Pro guide.
