The Mac’s transition to Apple Silicon could soon accelerate as Apple is reportedly planning to launch four Macs with a new M2 chip this year. The news comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who expects Apple to announce some Mac news during the company’s first media event of 2022, which could happen on March 8.
According to Gurman, Apple’s Spring event should give some stage time to the new 5G iPhone SE and iPad Air models, but the company could also use the event to reveal “at least one new Mac.” Gurman saw three new Macs being listed in the database of the Russian equivalent of the FCC, and one of them is said to be a laptop.
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Apple launched its first M1-based Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro in Fall 2020, which have been followed by new M1 iMacs in Spring 2021. Last fall, Apple also launched redesigned 14” and 16” MacBook models powered by new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, which Gurman expects to see in more Mac models this year. In addition to a brand new M2 chip. A more powerful version of Apple’s M1 Max chips may also ship in the company’s first Apple Silicon Mac Pro later this year.
Here are all the new Macs that could be in the pipeline in 2022 according to the report:
Mac Mini: The most affordable Mac could get new two new variants with M1 Pro and M2 chips
MacBook Air: A redesigned model with an M2 chip is coming this year
MacBook Pro: A new 13” M2 model could replace the M1 version that launched in Fall 2020
iMac: The 24-inch iMac should be upgraded with an M2 chip, while the larger iMac Pro will get M1 Pro and M1 Max chip options
Mac Pro: A “half-sized” model is coming this year with the equivalent of “either two or four M1 Max chips.”
According to Gurman, Apple’s new M2 chips won’t differ significantly from the still plenty capable M1: Expect the same 8-core CPU architecture with slightly higher clock speeds, but the GPU part may get a bigger upgrade with the number of cores going from seven or eight to nine or ten.
The two new M1 Max chips that are expected to launch in the first Apple Silicon Mac Pro should be the most powerful chips ever seen in a Mac: One chip is expected to feature 20 CPU cores and 64 graphics cores, and the second one may double that to 40 CPU cores and 128 graphics cores.
“While we’ll get new Macs in March, I’m told Apple is already gearing up for another round of Mac releases around May or June,” Gurman said. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in Fall 2020 that it would take the company two years to move its whole Mac line to Apple Silicon, and it seems that the company is right on track to do just that.