Apple Files New Macs in Regulatory Database Ahead of Rumored Spring Event

[pshufd]

While we are fixated (I think understandably) on the 2021 iMac's missing front-facing colors that pop versus the current pastel, and questionable choice of white bezel – an aesthetic aberration that some, as with the infamous Touch Bar, actually liked despite popular opinion, one key absent characteristic of the MacBook Air that's bothered me for some time is how bloody expensive it is to get a laptop from Apple with a diagonal screen length of over 13"; needing to upgrade to a 16" MacBook for the real estate at a premium that's minimally $2,700 after taxes is ludicrous if you don't need the horsepower, when you consider an entry level laptop on the Air side costs about $1,100. For people who just want to see more on a portable device and aren't crunching 4K videos constantly it feels like we've been left out of the loop. People need to multitask in ways the iPad can't as naturally deliver with split screen. Though I understand there's probably some corporate concern about such a device as the Air cannibalizing the market share of their other products were it more competitive with a 16" screen it's really not eating their lunch, when you consider it's not meant to be a power house or necessarily for media consumption primarily which I'd argue the iPad mostly is. I just want a device that gives me the space to multitask effectively without minimizing and flipping constantly or deferring to a secondary device for non-passive functions the display is better being dedicated to, like a textbook or video. Students in particular these days are juggling accessing an online assignments portal, 1080p webcam, instant messenger, an office suite, probably code text editing and terminal if that's your cup of tea (or coffee), and I could really use that 3 inches without dropping almost 3x the price, please. We'd also get an improved battery life, more efficient heat dissipation for a mini-LED screen if they went that route, possibly more ports for the size bump, bigger speakers. I would pay an extra $500 for all that slight increase entails. If they can do this for the MacBook Pro shouldn't they also with the Air? Students need love too!

A lot of people would agree. The M1 has the power of the Dell XPS 15 laptops and it would be nice to have the screen to match. The LG Gram is a 17 inch laptop that's under 3 pounds.

 

[MajorFubar]

Here's hoping one of them is a slightly higher end Mac Mini.
The current M1 Mac Mini is 15 months old.
More likely though I think is a 27" iMac to replace the current Intel model, whose own balls get torn off and handed to it on a plate by the Pro and Max MBPs, which is a bit embarrassing.

 

[jeffpeng]

You missed TSMC’s N4 which is an enhanced version of their N5 process. The M2 is likely to be an A15 fabricated on the N4 process.

I actually missed that even A16 won't be N3 - but N4. Meaning they are design compatible. Meaning basing M2 on A16 doesn't award process advantages otherwise lost. Hence .... it least it's now plausible they would base M2 on A15. But this also means that, regardless if it's based on A15, A16 or something in between, M2 won't be significantly faster in Single Thread performance, but somewhat. N4 has around 5% over N5, A15 has - as @DeepIn2U corrected - around 8% synthetic, so we can expect 13% ST. That's, in my opinion, not enough to warrant an upgrade, but it's enough to warrant the release of a new SoC. The GPU, however, is significantly better.

So, now with the "Notch Guy" claiming we'll see a M2 MBP at March 8, which I personally still find highly unlikely, however I thought the notch leak was a hoax as well.... I'd still be surprised, but it doesn't appear implausible.

 

[jeffpeng]

Thinking about it .... the one reason the MBP at March 8 rumor could actually be true is if they actually have M2 ready and in full production and plan to phase out M1 already since they don't have the same N5 capacities anymore and/or M2 is actually cheaper to produce (which might hold true considering N4 should have the around the same yields, but is more compact). Hence no new chassis, no new "other" hardware, just drop in new Package which possibly is even pin-compatible, call it a day. Just boom, same machine, slightly better chip. No immediate need to upgrade, but still a nice bump to keep bragging rights vs. Intel. Feels a bit cheap, but might be the best they can come up with considering all sorts of supply chain constraints and the fact that N3 won't be ready until A17 the earliest.

Or ..... if M2 actually IS based on A16 technology and they just push it way ahead of time. But that still (and even more so) would really put a lot of questions out there in terms of cannibalizing their own line up. Plus could they really offer Last-Gen Pro/Max and Next-Gen Non-Pro at the same event without basically saying to customers "this iMac is new, but it's sadly halfway obsolete since this MBP is newer even if it looks older"?

No matter how I toss and turn it .... just won't compute in my head. Then again.... if I was that smart I'd be Tim Apple. So ?‍♂️

 

[Tech_Mac_Man]

 

[pixelmix]

Any word on the model numbers for the new products released yesterday?

Assuming the Mac Studio is two of A2615, A2686, and A2681, what is the third?

I think that one of these was rumoured to be a laptop. Should we expect a small laptop bump imminently, or was one code used for the display or iPad Air?

I'm in the market for a new laptop but don't want to order immediately before an update is released!