Apple to Unveil 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro With Unchanged Design Next Month, Claims Original MacBook Pro 'Notch' Leaker

[dgdosen]

One bit of information that could give credence to this M2 MBP (whatever an M2 is based on) is that TSMC is going to be volume shipping N3 chips in the second half of this year. That means we should be seeing 3nm devices sometime early next year! Apple will be first at that trough and will want to ship all sorts of devices using that tech. That means there's a lot to upgrade - even if minimally, between now and then. Maybe Apple starts making some more low cost, simple spec upgrades - which this could be. This is especially true because we don't know if Apple is using other TSMC nodes - like N4 or N4P - which I'm not sure when they hit volume production.

Unfortunately, we won't be able to speculate on patterns of Mx chip generations until Apple starts shipping something with a next generation. We'll find out soon enough.

 

[Lounge vibes 05]

real question si who is buying the m1 macbook pro over the m1 macbook air?

The M1 MacBook Pro still has a better display, longer battery life, a fan, better speakers, bigger trackpad and, for those who really care, a touchbar.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Strange that they can't just take out the Touch Bar. After all they used to make a 13" Pro without it. Having real function keys would make it more appealing for a lot of Pro buyers.

Also seems strange to still be making just one model with a Touch Bar, when everything else has moved on?

Honestly I think Apple will.

Notice the design of the 2016-2020/2021 13" MBP is the EXACT same main design (shell) as the rumoured non-wedge shape MBA?

Yeah MBA 2022 no touchbar and white bezel and notch.
MBA has always been 11 & 13" now carrying same extremely similar design of the 13" MBP.

Apple will save HUGE $$ keeping a similar design with Hon Hai having minimal cad variances and machine setup for production.

 

[ChrisChaval]

The M1 MacBook Pro still has a better display, longer battery life, a fan, better speakers, bigger trackpad and, for those who really care, a touchbar.

and one more graphics core

 

[MVMNT]

Calling this the M2 MacBook public beta.

 

[viggobf]

Why release a MacBook Pro that is practically worse than the Air? I would love an M2 MBP with the 14" M1 Pro MBP's design, maybe a $100 price increase, just so I don't have to buy a white-bezelled MBA.


Also, Apple should adopt a better naming system for their in-house chips, I'm thinking like Intel and AMD:

• M1/M2 as the M5 line
• M1 Pro as the M7 line
• M1 Max as the M9 line

 

[FrozenDarkness]

The M1 MacBook Pro still has a better display, longer battery life, a fan, better speakers, bigger trackpad and, for those who really care, a touchbar.

i know that it’s slightly better. my quesiton was who is actually making this choice? i gotta imagine it doens’t sell well.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I wonder will the M2 MacBook Pro look exactly like the current M1 MacBook Pro minus the Touch Bar.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Whatever they do with the Air, please keep the wedge shape.

It’s an incredibly cool form factor design, and feels even sleeker relative to the pretty “tubby” and “chonky” new 14/16 MBPs

 

[SpotOnT]

Well, my guess is absolutely no one purchased the 13” MacBook Pro, so Apple is sitting on a bunch of committed parts and are now thinking, well if we throw in an M2 chip maybe we can ship some of these units.

Fine by me, now we will get to benchmark the M2 and get an idea of what to expect for the redesigned MacBook Air and next generation MacBook Pro. Although personally I would never recommend someone buy one of these things with a touchbar. If they got rid of the touchbar I could see recommending this to some folks instead of the M1 MacBook Air.

 

[anshuvorty]

I can totally envision during the announcement stream that Apple announces that the touch bar is gone and then everyone here is like ?!??!?!?!? Was this a last-minute decision by Apple??!?!??!

It has happened in the past where a pretty credible rumor pointed to one aspect of a product only for Apple to announce the opposite during the formal announcement of said product. I can't pull up any concrete examples off of the top of my head right now...

 

[sirozha]

real question si who is buying the m1 macbook pro over the m1 macbook air?

People who need the TouchBar.

 

[karranz]

I don't see the point of this product. The entry-level Mac is the MacBook Air and a lower-end Pro device is just confusing people.

I see you don't have an idea of what you are talking about. The new MacBook Pro is plain horrible, it's the most Dell-HP product apple has ever made. I mean, it's obvious, except for people that don't have the taste or the knowledge to appreciate good design. But don't get ofended, apple nowadays is a mass market product, for many people having a perfectly designed product is not important, just like owning a kia. I'm thankful that apple gave me the opportunity to have a decent designed updated laptop in my home, I would have never ever bought the new MacBook Pro, neither a MacBook Air with white bezels and pastel colors.

 

[DeepIn2U]

The entry-level Mac is the MacBook Air and a lower-end Pro device is just confusing

EXACTLY! Not to mention too close to pricing between M1 MBA and M1 MBP. Keep PRO units PRO with 14/16".

The M2 Air will have a different design, apparently (less "pro" looking?), so there will be more differentiation between them.

Look at the proposed MBA 2022 non-wedge side ways and the 13" MBP they look VERY similar:
minus MagSafe,
minus the white bezel and notch,
both in outside shape, thickness and even the side speaker grills seem identical

 

[Tagbert]

I guess not:

I kind of think that if someone doesn’t understand the performance advantage of an M1 Pro over an M2 and ends up buying an M2, then they probably didn’t need the higher performance and the M2 base model is probably the appropriate one anyway. It ends up working out.

 

[mjtomlin71]

 

[VaruLV]

I wouldt mind as much it having the same desing, as long as those huge, 2010 AD bezels are gone.
If its exact clone of prevoius iteration M1 Macbook Pro, then no way I could be even remotely interested in one.

 

[mjtomlin71]

 

[skoor2]

Let me get this straight. In 2022, the only way I can buy a MacBook Pro with the Touch Bar -- "revolutionary" and "groundbreaking" as Apple called it when it unveiled it in 2016 -- is to buy the basic, hanger-on, carryover MacBook Pro?

Yep...

 

[Tagbert]

Maybe this is a thing in the USA but there are virtually no Mac enterprise customers in the ROtW. Windows business laptops by the likes of Dell and HP reign supreme.

Our US-based company is about 60% Windows and 40% Mac

 

[Ethosik]

Agreed but I’m talking about the March/next month announcement. M2 will be later this year. My guess anyway.

It’s still an old processor even at March time. 1.5 years roughly is good for spec bumps.

 

[skoor2]

The M1 MacBook Pro still has a better display, longer battery life, a fan, better speakers, bigger trackpad and, for those who really care, a touchbar.

Yes, at the M1 announcement time that was all true (and technically still true vs 13 MBA), but who cares? , The 14 MBP now has a much brighter, larger HDR display (some even would say excellent), much larger battery, a much better fan design, much better speakers, a better camera, "new" MagSafe, additional ports, but same touchpad and for some - good riddance of TB. A lot of better over the MBA.

And, ifI you normalize the configuration of the 13 MBP (16gb, 512SSD) to the 14 MBP, there is a $300 list price difference. A lot of value of "much better" and new features, IMHO. Notch- overblown, IMHO.

I would never buy the 13 MBP at $1700, so bought the new 14 MBP on sale recently for $1750. And I see the notch design as a bonus how they move the menu out of the typical display area. But even at list $2000, I think a better value.

If they did just drop a M2 chip into the current 13MBP, I would say who cares? The only advantage would be maybe 15% better single, multi performance and a little better battery life. I think most would still buy a discounted Air (street price, if you look, $800-$850) vs $1300.

 

[deconstruct60]

One bit of information that could give credence to this M2 MBP (whatever an M2 is based on) is that TSMC is going to be volume shipping N3 chips in the second half of this year.

Not anymore. N3 is solidly 2023 high volume process . It is detached from 2022

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Production will start in very late in 2022 but TSMC doesn’t project revenue recognition until 2023 .

That means we should be seeing 3nm devices sometime early next year! Apple will be first at that trough and will want to ship all sorts of devices using that tech.

Not necessarily . There can be someone with a relatively small order that gets released before Apple iterates. Especially if M2 is something like TSMC N4 . That means won’t be an M3 ‘plain’ coming soon in 2023 because still rolling out M2 across bottom of spectrum.

That means there's a lot to upgrade - even if minimally, between now and then. Maybe Apple starts making some more low cost, simple spec upgrades - which this could be. This is especially true because we don't know if Apple is using other TSMC nodes - like N4 or N4P - which I'm not sure when they hit volume production.

TSMC is working on rolling out 4x . N4 was in risk production last Fall 2021..high violume should be around late spring ( or sooner if it goes smoothly) .

Taiwan's TSMC to begin 4 nm risk production in 3rd quarter | Taiwan News | Jun. 22, 2021 12:52

4 nm process technology slated for volume production in 2022 | Jun. 22, 2021 12:52

www.taiwannews.com.tw

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Unfortunately, we won't be able to speculate on patterns of Mx chip generations until Apple starts shipping something with a next generation. We'll find out soon enough.

The bottom part of the M series may not be couple to the top part . Just like iPhone A series wasn’t couple one to one with the iPad Pro A_X series.

Can see Max and/or multi-die Max skipping M2 ( N4 ) and skipping to M3 ( N3 ) .

 

[kemal]

Whatever is released, I hope it supports two external screens.

 

[ojfl]

I guess having the possibility of a Mac Mini Max or an M2 with 64GB of memory and a large hard drive is worth waiting for March 8th. Then we can finally say goodbye to our Mac Pro 2012...