Apple has been quite busy in 2022. In June, it dropped the new MacBook Air M2 and MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) sporting the equally new Apple M2 chip. The iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 released in September, while the iPad 2022 and iPad Pro 2022 came a month later. That’s a lot of products, even before factoring in the potential new MacBook Pro with M2 Pro laptops.
Rumors about the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro 2022 have circulated for months. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman repeatedly stated in his Power On newsletter that new MacBook Pros would launch in November. Even as October drew to a close, new MacBook Pros in November were still plausible.
However, it seems we may not get these devices in 2022 after all. Gurman now says the next batch of MacBook refreshes won't arrive until the first quarter of next year, led by the MacBook Pro with M2 Pro in 14-inch and 16-inch models.
These machines, which would replace the existing 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021 and 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021, could appear at Apple's spring product launch event, which normally takes place in March. This is also around the time major updates to macOS Ventura (13.3) and iOS 16 (16.3) are expected, according to Gurman.
If this latest report is accurate, then I'm glad. Why? Because I don't think we need M2 MacBook Pro laptops this year.
It’s too soon for new MacBook Pros
The Apple M1 chip first appeared in November 2020 as the company’s transition from Intel to Apple silicon. That year’s Mac Mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro all sported the new processor. Nearly a year later in October 2021, we got the MacBook Pro 14-inch and MacBook Pro 16-inch sporting the beefier M1 Pro and M1 Max chips.
A year between new processors is fairly common in the tech industry. Because of that, it would have been odd if the proposed M2 Pro and M2 Max chips were released in November after the base M2 processor debuted in June. Five months isn't a long time, especially if you want a product to sell. Some folks would be inclined to skip the current laptops and wait for the new ones.
Though March 2023 still feels like it’s too soon to release updated MacBook Pros, it’s better than a November launch. It at least gives the current machines breathing room before they're eclipsed by more powerful laptops.
The existing MacBook Pros are still powerful
I currently use a MacBook Pro 16-inch with an M1 Max chip as my everyday non-work laptop. I find it sufficiently powerful to handle my computing needs. It never buckles under pressure, even when I have dozens of apps and windows open. The same is true when I played Resident Evil Village and saw frame rates well above 150 frames per second. Streaming and editing my podcast isn’t a problem for the laptop either. If I were an artist, I’m sure it’d help me blaze through projects with ease. In short, the M1 Max-driven MacBook Pro is a beast.
I fully expect the alleged M2 Pro and M2 Max chips to be more performant than the current-gen processors. But, outside of professional creatives, I have to question whether regular users need more power than the existing MacBooks provide. The 2021 MacBook Pros, this year’s MacBook Air and MacBook Pro 13-inch or even older laptops like the MacBook Air M1 are still reliable for everyday computing.
Unless the new MacBook Pros somehow exceed all expectations, I don’t see them rendering the current crop of Apple laptops obsolete. We’re good with what we have, for the moment.
Outlook
I want to make it clear that I’m not against Apple or any other company releasing updated versions of its products on a regular basis. Even if said updates are minor iterations, such as we saw with the recently released Microsoft Surface Pro 9 and aforementioned iPad Pro 2022, it’s better to have new products than nothing at all. Even incremental updates help push technology forward.
With that said, I’m glad that we may not get new MacBook Pros in 2022. I’m sure we’ll be impressed when these new machines make their debut, but I’m not ready to move on just yet.
