Apple is testing an entire bunch of recent Macs which might be powered by its next-gen M2 chip — together with a brand new MacBook Air and a number of MacBook Professional fashions, in line with the laptop computer grapevine.
This report comes from one of many extra dependable sources for Apple spillage, Mark Gurman, who factors out in Bloomberg (opens in new tab) that tapping data in developer logs suggests no fewer than 9 potential Macs utilizing totally different variations of the incoming M2 chip are being examined.
Clearly, take this with a big pinch of your most well-liked condiment, though Gurman does make clear that in addition to the logs in query, he has spoken to inside sources who’ve corroborated the data. However do not forget that there aren’t any ensures right here, nor ever with any nuggets from the rumor mill.
Okay, so the details of curiosity listed below are the brand new MacBooks, beginning with the purported MacBook Air (2022), which has lengthy been rumored as coming in an all-new design with the M2 chip. Gurman asserts that this laptop computer is codenamed J413 and can supply an 8-core M2 CPU (with a 10-core graphics answer).
There’s additionally an entry-level MacBook Professional with M2 in testing, which can use the identical SoC because the Air. And once more this refresh of the bottom 13-inch mannequin has been floated a number of occasions through the rumor mill.
Additional Apple laptops presently within the testing course of purportedly embody MacBook Professional 14-inch and 16-inch refreshed fashions with M2 Professional and M2 Max chips, each operating with the identical core spec. Supposedly the M2 Max is a 12-core SoC with 38-core graphics (notched up from 10 cores and 32 cores respectively within the present M1 Max). These notebooks will include as much as 64GB of system RAM, the report states.
As you may anticipate, the much-rumored Mac mini (2022) comes into play with this batch of testing too, and the next-gen mannequin supposedly runs with the identical spec because the MacBook Air and its M2 chip – however there’s an additional Mac mini variant with the M2 Professional inside additionally in testing.
Curiously, Apple has supposedly additionally examined Mac mini machines with an M1 Professional and M1 Max, however Gurman believes these designs gained’t come to fruition, and might be redundant now that the Mac Studio is on the scene.
Lastly, Gurman asserts that there’s a Mac Professional which is constructed on the follow-up chip to the M1 Extremely presently seen within the Mac Studio.
Evaluation: Finest laid plans may nonetheless go awry…
Apple prototypes and assessments bushels of {hardware}, and never all of it’s picked for retailer cabinets. So there aren’t any ensures that we’ll see something like all the Macs talked about right here. That stated, Gurman does observe that testing is “far alongside” in some circumstances, so presumably a few of this {hardware} is near being finalized for launch.
The leaker believes that two Macs will come out across the center of the 12 months, and we’ve heard earlier than from Gurman that we might even see these unveiled at WWDC (we’re not so certain, as we’ve mentioned beforehand, however hey, we actually can’t rule it out).
The idea is that a type of fashions destined for a WWDC reveal is the redesigned MacBook Air, and on this newest rumor deluge, Gurman once more mentions that this is likely one of the Macs that’ll arrive in 2022, together with the low-end MacBook Professional (13-inch) and Mac mini. We’re taking a look at 2023 for the others, then, or nevertheless a lot of them make the minimize (additionally fascinating to notice right here is that there’s no point out of any new iMac).
Clearly, we have to keep skeptical round these predictions – and any crystal ball gazing for that matter – and what’s extra, there could possibly be disruption to MacBook manufacturing that throws these potential timeframes into disarray, or at the least may trigger a delay. As we heard earlier this week, the present lockdowns in China might have a substantial affect on MacBook manufacturing particularly.
- Right here’s why a MacBook Air with M2 chip might tempt new patrons into the Apple fold
