M2 Pro, M2 Max MacBook Pro models could arrive by the fall

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware
Apple's second and third chip releases in the M2 generation could land within months, with a report claiming M2 Pro and M2 Max-equipped MacBook Pro models could arrive as soon as this fall.




During WWDC 2022, Apple introduced its M2 chip generation with updated MacBook Airand 13-inch MacBook Pro models, starting the influx of new hardware using the latest chip iteration. If a report is to be believed, the M2 could be joined by its stablemates within months.

According to Mark Gurman's "Power On" newsletter for Bloomberg, Apple has an aggressive internal schedule for the M2 Pro and M2 Max. Packed into an updated 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro, the launches could occur in the fall, or at the very least, early 2023.

Gurman previously offered in June that an M2 Pro-equipped MacBook Pro would be on the way, alongside a Mac mini. However, at the time, he said the updates would arrive within the next year and didn't offer more precise timings.

An update in the fall could happen for the 14-inch and 16-inch models, however it would run the risk of making the existing M1 Pro and M1 Max-based models out of date earlier than typical for Mac releases. Apple launched the initial Apple Silicon versions in fall 2021, so a fall 2022 update would equate to a one-year cycle rather than the usually-observed 1.5-year or two-year cycle.

As part of the upgrade, users shouldn't expect much in the way of physical changes, as the designs are "likely to stay roughly the same." The 14-inch and 16-inch models already benefit from a notched display, extra ports, MagSafe, and other features, so they probably won't go though a MacBook Air-like transformation.

Read on AppleInsider
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 27
    premipremi Posts: 6member
    Please please please be true!!! Im holding onto my MacBook Pro 2016, and with it now confirmed they won’t be getting Ventura, super excited for the possibility of it coming out sooner!
    TheObannonFilewatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 27
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    Unless you're doing something where you think the M2 series SoC's would really benefit you I don't see why you wouldn't just buy one of the current models. You're never going to have the latest and greatest forever anyways. 
    muthuk_vanalingam9secondkox2sconosciutowatto_cobradewme
  • Reply 3 of 27
    AniMillAniMill Posts: 155member
    Where’s the Mac Pro? I wonder if they are waiting to release the M2 Extreme where 4 or more clusters work in concert? Where the M1 Mac had only one edge for their interconnect, perhaps the M2 Max could have 2 edge interconnects permitting 4 chips. Or maybe they’re working on a “co-processor” setup where the redundancies of multiple M2 Max chips are consolidated to a set of Maxes and a series of daughter chips permitting the user to configure the system to what best applies to their work: 4 GPU only chips added, 2 more 48-core CPU clusters, or more video coprocessors. This would permit an actual upgradable chassis component design.
    edited July 2022 williamlondon9secondkox2watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 4 of 27
    wood1208wood1208 Posts: 2,905member
    You don't have to go to college to know that !!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 27
    retrogustoretrogusto Posts: 1,109member
    macxpress said:
    Unless you're doing something where you think the M2 series SoC's would really benefit you I don't see why you wouldn't just buy one of the current models. You're never going to have the latest and greatest forever anyways. 
    It can be frustrating to buy something new and then watch the price drop by hundreds of dollars after a few weeks of use. You’re essentially paying a big premium for a few extra weeks of better performance, and then stuck with something not quite as good for years to come. 

    If someone doesn’t want or “need” the latest thing and doesn’t mind that it will become obsolete/unsupported sooner, you can wait a few months and buy the current models at a big discount once the upgraded models come out.  And if you buy it refurbished and/or used, it’ll be even cheaper. And you could always use the savings towards the next upgrade. But sometimes it’s nice to get the latest thing in perfect condition and enjoy it for as long as you can. 

    Industry observers have been saying that chip prices will be falling soon, due to increasing production capacity, and it will be interesting to see if any of that translates into better value for customers or whether it just gets absorbed by inflation and company margins. 
    edited July 2022 neo-techwilliamlondonTheObannonFilemarklarkwatto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 6 of 27
    premi said:
    Please please please be true!!! Im holding onto my MacBook Pro 2016, and with it now confirmed they won’t be getting Ventura, super excited for the possibility of it coming out sooner!
    Perfect upgrade timing
    premiwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 27
    macxpressmacxpress Posts: 5,801member
    macxpress said:
    Unless you're doing something where you think the M2 series SoC's would really benefit you I don't see why you wouldn't just buy one of the current models. You're never going to have the latest and greatest forever anyways. 
    It can be frustrating to buy something new and then watch the price drop by hundreds of dollars after a few weeks of use. You’re essentially paying a big premium for a few extra weeks of better performance, and then stuck with something not quite as good for years to come. 

    If someone doesn’t want or “need” the latest thing and doesn’t mind that it will become obsolete/unsupported sooner, you can wait a few months and buy the current models at a big discount once the upgraded models come out.  And if you buy it refurbished and/or used, it’ll be even cheaper. And you could always use the savings towards the next upgrade. But sometimes it’s nice to get the latest thing in perfect condition and enjoy it for as long as you can. 

    Industry observers have been saying that chip prices will be falling soon, due to increasing production capacity, and it will be interesting to see if any of that translates into better value for customers or whether it just gets absorbed by inflation and company margins. 
    There are some really good deals on MacBook Pros right now. No need to wait. As far as chip prices falling soon, soon is awful relative and when has Apple ever lowered prices? They're pretty consistent on their pricing overall. 
    Alex1Nwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 27
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 2,663member
    Apple can’t do two year upgrade cycles. 

    The other guys aren’t waiting around snd competition is hot. 

    The other guys amortize their cost by developing for everyone. Apple does so by drooping the core CPU for the mega million selling iPhone. 

    Apple has already made profit in the m1 pro/max MacBooks. It’s time to upgrade this fall. 

    The minimal investment m2 MacBook Pro opens margins up as well. 

    The fact that apple went that route leads me to believe they are creating padding for a bold move. 

    An m2 max this year would have the impact of a nuclear bomb in the industry would ensure the MacBook stays at the top of the heap. The graphics improvements alone will likely put it nipping at the heels of the top desktop discrete GPUs, while beating the best mobile CPUs. 

    Battery life will likely take a tiny dip and that’s ok. There is amazing battery life to spare at the moment and the dip will be negligible - unless they find a way to fit more battery. 

    The screen and chassis will be the same, but I suspect hdmi and some miscellaneous items will be upgraded. 

    The timing is absolutely just right for an upgrade to MacBook Pro this fall. 
    edited July 2022 retrogustoTheObannonFilewatto_cobraAlex1Nd_2FileMakerFeller
  • Reply 9 of 27
    If this comes to pass and Apple refreshes its flagship Pro laptops after only a year, it’s really kind of hard to overstate how big a change this is in how Apple does things. 

    I still find it to be unlikely, but I’m all for it. I guess it could be explained as follows: In the past, with Intel’s pricing policies, Apple had to weigh the cost of refreshing its hardware against the actual performance gains. Now that’s moot, or at least the cost/performance equation is very different.

    If it does happen, then Apple might continue to offer the M1, like they currently do for the Air. So you can pay a bit more for the latest and greatest, or you can pay a bit less for last year’s silicon…

    TheObannonFilewatto_cobraAlex1NFileMakerFeller
  • Reply 10 of 27
    JinTechJinTech Posts: 1,020member
    Personally, I think Apple should refresh the Pro laptops this year, even though I own an M1 Pro Max with 64 GBs of memory and a 1 TB SSD. Will I be a bit sad to not have the latest and greatest? Of course but it's not personal, it's business and Apple need to show that they are serious about their professional lineup to stay ahead of the competition. Intel pretty much screwed them for years and now it's time to show that Apple is the boss when it comes to silicon.
    watto_cobraAlex1NTheObannonFile9secondkox2FileMakerFeller
  • Reply 11 of 27
    Fred257Fred257 Posts: 236member
    I’m not getting near any M2 anything. The reviews I have seen show absolutely no consistency in both the CPU and GPU reviews. As a matter of fact I think it’s the worst Apple architecture we will see. Apple, fix your stupid mistakes!! Only one NAND chip on the lower end models is a complete design flaw and ultra cheap on your part. The GPU being slower on the 10 core then the 8 is inexcusable!! Stop and improve these mistakes please. And for Apple fanboys here who complain about me I’ve used Macs since 1989 making music on Cubase before many of you were in your mothers womb 
  • Reply 12 of 27
    If they do, then dang, that’s an aggressive update cycle. It was looking like 18ish months. But maybe the gap between M1 and M1 Pro and up was just because of the transition plus lockdowns, shortages, etc.

    maybe Apple will have us on an annual upgrade cycle after all. If so, that will be amazing.
    watto_cobraAlex1N
  • Reply 13 of 27
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    Funny that Apple for years has been criticized for not keeping up with competitors, yet here we are and people are now criticizing Apple for possibly updating every year now.  

    Typical.
    mattinozFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 14 of 27
    This one year cycle upgrade would be a nice change and since the M2 is only incrementally better than the M1 series (it’s on the same technology node) it’s certainly plausible for Apple to do this and stay ahead of the competition.   I feel the real game changer will be the M3 series in which the GPU should see a major upgrade and I suspect these will debut in the fall 2023 MacBook Pro’s.  
    9secondkox2watto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 27
    DAalsethDAalseth Posts: 2,783member
    macxpress said:
    Unless you're doing something where you think the M2 series SoC's would really benefit you I don't see why you wouldn't just buy one of the current models. You're never going to have the latest and greatest forever anyways. 
    I keep my systems a long time. I have iMacs from ‘16, and ‘15, and a MacBook Pro from ‘13. We squeeze every bit of life out of them. So when I upgrade I know it’s going to be a system I will keep for a while and I want to start as current as possible. I’m waiting until the M2 Mac Mini’s are out, not because I need the cutting edge hardware, but because the current model is closing in on two years old. Might as well wait and start at the leading side of the wave. 
    FileMakerFellerwatto_cobrah2p
  • Reply 16 of 27
    techconctechconc Posts: 275member
    Fred257 said:
    I’m not getting near any M2 anything. The reviews I have seen show absolutely no consistency in both the CPU and GPU reviews. As a matter of fact I think it’s the worst Apple architecture we will see. Apple, fix your stupid mistakes!! Only one NAND chip on the lower end models is a complete design flaw and ultra cheap on your part. The GPU being slower on the 10 core then the 8 is inexcusable!! Stop and improve these mistakes please. And for Apple fanboys here who complain about me I’ve used Macs since 1989 making music on Cubase before many of you were in your mothers womb 
    Unfortunately, people watch these YouTube videos and come away with the notion that the M2 is somehow bad.  That's not the case.  The M2 is better than the M1 in every way.  HOWEVER, for a product like the MacBook Air that doesn't have active cooling, under heavy workloads for a considerable amount of time, it will eventually throttle performance with less than predictable results.  Realistically speaking, that's now how most people use their machines.  They typically run at a near idle level then sometimes peak to high levels of performance and then drop back down.  If you're really worried about sustained performance, buy a machine with active cooling to mitigate such things. MacBook Air users are not buying these machines for the purpose of sustained peak performance scenarios.  
    FileMakerFellerwatto_cobra9secondkox2d_2tenthousandthingsprogrammer
  • Reply 17 of 27
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,299member
    Yearly updates would be interesting for a number of options. 
    Are Apple going to keep say M1Pro or even base Max around as an option in the MacBookPro Line up. 
    Might the iMac and MacMini transition to being an M(x-1)Pro instead of a current processor product?

    That would allow them to get more value out of each generation of chip like they with the A series and the M1Pro would be a bigger boost to those machines than an M2 based on current numbers. 

    I'm assuming over time as the larger chip yields improve the MxPro becomes the base chip for all of the line above it and Max,Ultra & ? 4 die SOC.
    edited July 2022 watto_cobrad_2
  • Reply 18 of 27
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,255member
    sflocal said:
    Funny that Apple for years has been criticized for not keeping up with competitors, yet here we are and people are now criticizing Apple for possibly updating every year now.  

    Typical.
    The only thing dumber would be complaining that the price of gas is falling too fast. 

    But of course NOBODY is THAT dumb. 
  • Reply 19 of 27
    programmerprogrammer Posts: 3,457member
    Fred257 said:
    I’m not getting near any M2 anything. The reviews I have seen show absolutely no consistency in both the CPU and GPU reviews. As a matter of fact I think it’s the worst Apple architecture we will see. Apple, fix your stupid mistakes!! Only one NAND chip on the lower end models is a complete design flaw and ultra cheap on your part. The GPU being slower on the 10 core then the 8 is inexcusable!! Stop and improve these mistakes please. And for Apple fanboys here who complain about me I’ve used Macs since 1989 making music on Cubase before many of you were in your mothers womb 
    I think this is a confluence of a couple of things.  Their low end machines are using a single NAND chip as a cost saving measure, and the higher end machines shouldn't do that.  The GPU being slower on 10 vs 8 cores is likely a software thing (in the driver or Metal) or a benchmarking artifact.

    As usual, you need to assess the machine you're interested in (when that becomes possible), not projections or theorizing about what it'll be.  I think the M2 pro/max/ultra/whatever are going to be pretty impressive chips and Apple will put them in either the same or improved systems compared to last year's models.  Hopefully the long awaited Mac Pro arrives too.

    designrfastasleep
  • Reply 20 of 27
    thttht Posts: 5,420member
    Fred257 said:
    I’m not getting near any M2 anything. The reviews I have seen show absolutely no consistency in both the CPU and GPU reviews. As a matter of fact I think it’s the worst Apple architecture we will see. Apple, fix your stupid mistakes!! Only one NAND chip on the lower end models is a complete design flaw and ultra cheap on your part. The GPU being slower on the 10 core then the 8 is inexcusable!! Stop and improve these mistakes please. And for Apple fanboys here who complain about me I’ve used Macs since 1989 making music on Cubase before many of you were in your mothers womb 
    I think this is a confluence of a couple of things.  Their low end machines are using a single NAND chip as a cost saving measure, and the higher end machines shouldn't do that.  The GPU being slower on 10 vs 8 cores is likely a software thing (in the driver or Metal) or a benchmarking artifact.

    As usual, you need to assess the machine you're interested in (when that becomes possible), not projections or theorizing about what it'll be.  I think the M2 pro/max/ultra/whatever are going to be pretty impressive chips and Apple will put them in either the same or improved systems compared to last year's models.  Hopefully the long awaited Mac Pro arrives too.

    It's also a confluence of your usual social media rage machine. For the vast majority of buyers, the base SKU is faster than then the prior generation. And by vast, I mean 99% of base model buyers. The storage may be slower than a prior Intel or M1 model, but net-net it will be faster for the vast majority of workflows. There really isn't a controversy here. For the few users who have workflows gated by storage speeds, they are now aware of it and can option up if they want to, and it's all relative to the machine they are upgrading from.

    I don't think there is a scenario where I would recommend getting the M1 MBA over the M2 MBA. If someone can afford $1000, they can afford $1200. I suppose bulk buyers will feel that +$200 difference if they are buying >1000 machines, but for an individual buyer, they really should get an M2 machine. They may choose the M1 MBA for reasons not related to performance, but the M2 MBA is a better machine in terms of display, performance, ports, and probably reliability too.

    The rumor is that the M2 Pro/Max will be TSMC 3nm products. That will buy about +15% clock speed increase or about a -15% decrease in power consumption. So, net-net, it's going to be pretty darn good. We will know in about 2 months when the iPhones come out. If the A16 is fabbed on 3nm, odds are pretty good that the M2 Pro and Max SoCs will be 3nm.


    designrprogrammer
Sign In or Register to comment.