Many are looking forward to Apple’s new 14/16-inch MacBook laptops, which are speculated to deliver significant performance gains with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. While we still have some time to go before Apple’s new products are released, MacRumors has been analyzing them from a number of angles. First, on the design front, they’re not expected to see major changes anytime soon.
(via MacRumors)
Apple is said to have refreshed the M1 Pro / M1 Max machines in 2021, but the company usually uses “one set of molds (design language) for several years.
For the case, the MacBook follows the aluminum unibody, but the shape is cut flatter and the bottom curves are toned down.
The C-side features an all-black keyboard, a large Force Touch trackpad, and speaker grilles on either side.
On the screen side, the current MacBook Pro features ProMotion / mini-LED technology and a 3.5mm bezel at the top and bottom, but introduces the controversial “bangs” notch to accommodate the 1080p webcam.
While not expecting an overhaul of the form factor, there are rumors that the MacBook Pro will soon be upgraded with the M2 Pro / M2 Max chip.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that the M2 Max comes with up to a 12-core CPU (up from the M1 Max’s 10 cores) + up to a 38-core GPU (currently up to 32 cores).
In addition, the M2 Max will support up to 64GB of unified memory, but more information on the slightly lower-tier M2 Pro chip is not yet known.
Interestingly, there were rumors earlier that Apple was developing OLED screens for future devices, including the MacBook Pro, and that they were expected to arrive as early as 2022.
However, recent news says that OLED technology will not appear until 2024. Meaning that the 2023 update may just be a rosy imagination.
Finally, there are rumors that Apple is considering introducing Face ID facial recognition for the Mac, and that the high-end MacBook Pro models are expected to be the first to adopt it.
As for a release date, look for Apple’s October 2021 refresh of the M1 Pro 14/16-inch MacBook models.
Mark Gurman said Apple doesn’t plan to update the 14/16-inch models until 2023.
As for the M2 refresh of the 13-inch MacBook Pro, that’s largely because the series hasn’t been updated since the M1 MBP was introduced in 2020.
