Update: The MacBook Pro 2022 could be a big disappointment for some.
Apple is planning to upgrades no fewer than six of its Mac models in 2022 and will likely start with the MacBook Pro 2022 at an event next month, according to well-connected Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman.
In the latest issue of his Power On newsletter, Gurman states that he is “expecting” seven upgrades in six product categories.
The Mac mini is the one that appears twice, first getting an upgrade to M1 Pro and then another to M2, Gurman claims. The 13-inch MacBook Pro, 24-inch iMac and MacBook Air 2022, meanwhile, will all get the upcoming M2 chip, while a “larger iMac Pro” will come with M1 Pro and M1 Max options.
Most intriguing of all is a “half-sized Mac Pro” which will reportedly come with “the equivalent of either two or four M1 Max chips,” giving us a taster of just how powerful Apple Silicon can get.
Gurman says that he has been informed that at least one new Mac will arrive at Apple’s rumored March 8 event, and while his sources haven’t confirmed which, he believes it will likely be the 13-inch MacBook Pro and/or Mac mini, as they have the oldest Apple Silicon.
The same also applies to the MacBook Air, of course, given it arrived at the same time as the 2020 MacBook Pro. But Gurman believes that the refreshed model will be “a nice holiday seller” for later in the year, “even if Apple had originally planned to get it out the door at the end of 2021 or in early 2022.”
Given the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are already out there, Gurman doesn’t expect the 2022 iMac Pro to be too far behind, however, and has been told to expect “another round of Mac releases around May or June.” Notably, the latter month is typically when WWDC takes place.
M2 and you
So what can we expect from the Apple M2 chip powering much of the lineup? Gurman says that it will “probably be a bit speedier than the M1” but “should retain the same eight-core architecture.” Graphics should be improved, however, with a move from seven or eight cores to nine or 10.
But it’s that Mac Pro where things get really interesting. It’ll apparently have two choices of chip to power things: “one that doubles the M1 Max’s capabilities and one that quadruples it.” The first will reportedly pack 20 CPU cores and 64 graphics cores, while the second will double it to 40 and 128 respectively.
It turns a bit speculative at the end, but it’s hard to dispute Gurman’s logic given the pattern to date: he reckons we’ll see Pro and Max versions of the M2 chip in 2023, alongside the first M3 processor.
Gurman has an enviable track record with Apple rumors, and the AppleTrack website gives him a very high 85.5% accuracy rating. But we’ll find out if this batch of predictions is correct next month, when we’ll hopefully see at least one new Mac, alongside the iPhone SE 3 and iPad Air 5.
