Mark Gurman Leaks, Apple Is Preparing To Launch A New Mac With A More Powerful M2 Chip

JAKARTA - Apple is reportedly gearing up to release several new Macs with M2 chips later this year. The report was issued by the Power On newsletter written by Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. Gurman said Apple hopes to debut the redesigned 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, 24-inch iMac, and MacBook Air, all equipped with the M2 chip.

Apple hasn't given a hint about the potential of the M2 chip, but Gurman thinks its CPU will be slightly faster than the M1, and it will share the same eight-core architecture. The graphics core, however, could jump from seven or eight to nine or 10. By 2023, Gurman predicts Apple could release Pro and Max versions of the M2 chip, as it did with the M1 chip, as well as announcing the M3 chip.

It's been more than a year since Apple first announced the M1 chip internally in November 2020, and a few months since the debut of the M1 Pro and M1 Max. Apple continues to distance itself from Intel's silicon, it has a few other Macs that are probably meant to push the remaining Intel powered devices out of its line.

According to The Verge report, Gurman expects a larger iMac Pro with M1 Pro and M1 Max chip options to replace the 27-inch iMac Pro, along with a smaller Mac Pro that comes "the equivalent of two or four M1 Max chips." For Mac Minis already equipped with the M1 chip, Gurman expects him to get the upgraded M1 Pro option (in addition to the M2 variation).

As far as the timeline goes, Gurman says Apple will release a new Mac in March, and then launch again in May or June. Apple is already expected to reveal the iPhone SE 5G, iPad Air 5G, and possibly a new Mac on March 8.

The schedule is also set to launch iOS 15.4, which comes with a mask-friendly Face ID, in March as well. The iPhone 14 and Apple Watch Series 8 won't launch until later this year.