According to rumours, Apple’s new MacBook Pro models, which should theoretically debut with the M2 Pro and M2 Max CPUs, won’t be available this month but should do so before the end of the year.
This information comes from one of the more trustworthy sources on all things Apple, Mark Gurman (and his constant Bloomberg(opens in new tab) newsletter), who states, among other things, that the MacBook Pros aren’t coming out soon enough, but the new iPad Pros are (excitingly) (less excitingly).
The good news is that the MacBook Pros with the M2 Pro and M2 Max silicon—the beefed-up versions of the M2—are “on schedule to launch in the near future,” just like the M1 did when these variants were added later.
According to Gurman, November is the most likely month for the release of these updated laptops because, as the leaker notes, that’s when new Mac hardware is usually made public. He certainly sounds as though he expects them to arrive before the year is over, despite the customary scepticism that comes with hearing rumours. (However, it’s important to keep in mind that this isn’t the first recent rumour concerning new MacBook Pros appearing before 2022 ends.)
Gurman points out that the initial release of macOS Ventura includes support for the next 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro computers.
Gurman claims that Apple is now developing a new Mac mini that will have the M2 processor. This is related to the Mac platform.
Analysis: Little modifications, little fuss…
The installation of those more powerful processors will be the primary modification to these MacBook Pro notebooks; Gurman notes that other modifications will be negligible. So, expect little other than an improvement to the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro’s powerplant.
The leaker believes that this launch would be low-key because the hardware hasn’t made any significant changes that would warrant a large, flashy event (or even a small moderately showy event).
Gurman said he does not anticipate the MacBooks to be released concurrently with the iPad Pro any time soon, but that does not exclude Apple from making a surprise appearance with them. Therefore, it’s possible that the laptops will arrive earlier than expected (or for that matter, the iPad Pro models may come later).
An M2 version of the Mac mini would be consistent with Gurman’s earlier rumours, according to which Apple was planning to release a version of the compact PC with an M1 Pro processor but decided against it in favour of the M2 chip.
Previously, it appeared that there would be a Mac mini with a vanilla M2 and another model with an M2 Pro, which makes sense given that they would sit next to the Mac Studio (the latter being at the top-end). We’ll have to wait and watch, and Gurman doesn’t say which chips might be used this time.
