Don’t hold your breath for a new MacBook Pro 2022 today, as reliable Apple tipster and Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has claimed it may be delayed.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman noted that a version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2020 was set to get a refresh with the rumored Apple M2 chip, and that it was originally due to launch alongside the heavily tipped MacBook Air 2022 at today's WWDC 2022 event. However, lockdowns in China, where a lot of Apple's product manufacturing is carried out, have apparently caused disruption in manufacturing plans and thrown this entry-level MacBook Pro off course.
“A faster 13-inch MacBook Pro had also been planned to launch around the same time as the new Air, but those same lockdowns in China could have thrown off that part of the roadmap as well,” reported Gurman. “When that machine does launch, expect it to look the same as the current 13-inch MacBook Pro from 2020 sans the Touch Bar.”
Gurman didn’t go into specifics about when we could expect to see a new MacBook Pro model, but we’d predict that it could arrive late summer or early this fall.
An alternative option is that if the machine doesn't have many new design features — for instance, if it doesn't get the full overhaul the MacBook Air 2022 is tipped for — then Apple could reveal this MacBook Pro in a press release and updated option in the Apple Store.
It's also possible that it could reveal an entry-level MacBook Pro 2022 at WWDC, but not announce a specific release date until after the event. However, these possibilities are purely speculation on our part.
The MacBook Pro 2022 isn’t set to be a trailblazer in terms of design. But it’s tipped to use the M2 chip, which will apparently favor efficiency over the raw performance of its bigger stablemates, the 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021 and 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021. Gurman has claimed there won’t be any mini-LED display tech in the mix either, unlike the screens on the 14-inch and 16-inch Pros.
In short, the MacBook Pro 2022 is likely to straddle the gap between the next MacBook Air tipped to be revealed today — make sure to follow our WWDC 2022 live blog for all the updates — and the current MacBook Pros. It’ll likely offer more performance than the Air, but not as much as its bigger stablemates.
As such, it is set to be a MacBook Pro for people who are after a little more power and processor headroom, say for some video rendering on the move, but who don’t really need the grunt on offer from the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Of course if it does surface today, we'll bring you all the details as soon as we get them.
