Apple's 'M2' Next-Gen Mac Chip Enters Mass Production, Expected to Debut in Redesigned MacBooks Later This Year

[gaximus]

Are they gonna skip M1X altogether? With this news it seems like that. It can be result of silicon shortages and decision to wait a bit and go forward with M2 right away. Let see at WWDC.

But they would leak a lot about A15 this way I guess on other side.

That seems strange, my guess is that maybe they got the naming wrong and it is the M1X(or whatever). They will have to have a way of differentiating the M# and M#(Pro) devices. Maybe it is the M2 and they will be updating the M# every year now, but I still think that there will be an M1X.

 

[bklement]

This iMac has higher CPU performance than the previous one (including much higher single-threaded performance than any iMac Pro), and its GPU performance is about on par with the previous $350 Vega 20 option. It's plenty powerful.

As for configurability… it's an iMac. It's not like, 23 years after the iMac was introduced, it's a shocker that an all-in-one computer doesn't exactly focus on configurability.

I don't give a flying **** about previous intel performance. Back then it made sense to buy an air as a portable machine and an imac as a workstation. Now it doesn't. Maybe with the bigger imac it will, but that means that it just became much more expensive for the same category.

You are confusing configurability with user extendability. A desktop in 2021 with 16 gb max for over $1000 is a laughing stock.

 

[cgsnipinva]

I was about to pull the trigger in January but then I was like, I have been using this MBP since 2012, I might as well wait for the next one and go all in.

If Apple can maintain this chip update schedule - that would be impressive.

 

[George Dawes]

This ones going to send intel over the edge 😂

 

[bklement]

Yep - they totally ‘degraded‘ the replacement iMac 21.5. Bigger, better screen, slimmer more modern design, much more powerful processor and compute system in general, better graphics. What awful compromises.

It's the exact same board as in the Air. It's about comparison with current gen in-house competition, not with Intels.

 

[raccoontail]

So many people will be disappointed they 'didn't wait' when this appears.

I needed a desktop and managed to find an M1 mini open-box. It has depreciated $50 in 5 months, though value will of course drop faster with M2s on the market. It would be easy to sell and upgrade if I felt the M2 was a must have, but so far the M1 still feels ridiculously fast compared to the i5 it replaced.

 

[Juraj22]

Hrmm I was just going to replace my 2014 Mac Mini (which is struggling because I made the mistake of putting the OS on an external SSD, encrypting it, and making everything APFS which apparently is the "screw your Mac over trifecta") with a Macbook Air.... should I hold off? I don't really use the Mac that often since my work computer is a Surface...

Replacing 2014 mini with anything M1 will be big upgrade. Consideration are additional peripherals that you plan to attach.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

M2 needs at least 12 cores, 32-64GB of RAM support. Also the ability to drive at least three 4K displays.

More worrying is what GPU will these higher powered Macs use. If they want to go custom they need to be on par with Nvidia and AMD graphics.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Also hoping that the bigger more powerful iMacs come with a diffferent design to those announced last week.

 

[bklement]

To my simple mind, if it scaled:
M2 - 16GPU core, 32gb memory limit, requires some modest cooling -> Macbook pro, iMac Pro, ?Mac Mini pro? (or Mac Pro Mini - whatever)

6 months later:
M3 - 32GPU core, 128gb memory limit, requires significant cooling ->Mac Pro

Transition complete by Spring 2022?

Then what, m4 with 8 cores into air, and their slowest cpu will have the highest model number?

 

[Chiromac81]

Do you think there will be a bigger version of M2 MacBook Air??

 

[chucker23n1]

I don't give a flying **** about previous intel performance.

Um, OK?

That's weird, cause it kind of matters. For the same $1,299, you get a much faster machine than before.

You're right that it has fewer ports, but other than that, it's quite an upgrade.

You are confusing configurability with user extendability. A desktop in 2021 with 16 gb max for over $1000 is a laughing stock.

Oh, so this is a "wah wah Apple is expensive" argument. Gotcha. Welcome to 1994.

 

[deeddawg]

Do you think there will be a bigger version of M2 MacBook Air??

What do you mean by "bigger version"?

If you're talking about a 14" display - perhaps someday if/when Apple stops making a two port 13.3" Macbook Pro. It's improbable that they'd tier a MBA model above an MBP model.

As for a 16" display Air? I don't think you'll ever see such a thing.

 

[bklement]

Do you think there will be a bigger version of M2 MacBook Air??

If anything it should be smaller if they adopt the rumored pro design. Every other brand has ultraportables under a kilogram.

 

[Orange Bat]

Hmm. Makes me wonder what their release strategy will look like. I imagine it will be something like M1 for “consumer”, M2 for “pro”, then maybe M1X ”consumer” upgrade in a couple of years, and M2X for the ”pros”. Then, maybe they move to M3 for the “pro” and M2 for “consumer”. This way they can constantly offer upgrades without having to come up with brand new processors for the lower-end every couple of years.

Doesn’t matter to me. I just ordered a Mac Mini (16GB, 1TB storage). It replaces a 2015 MacBook Pro, and it’s still good enough that I’m going to sink money into a new battery for the few times I need portability.

 

[chucker23n1]

To my simple mind, if it scaled:
M2 - 16GPU core, 32gb memory limit, requires some modest cooling -> Macbook pro, iMac Pro, ?Mac Mini pro? (or Mac Pro Mini - whatever)

6 months later:
M3 - 32GPU core, 128gb memory limit, requires significant cooling ->Mac Pro

Transition complete by Spring 2022?

I don't think that's how the numbering will pan out.

My money is on:

• for 2021, they either announce a family of M2L, M2, M2X (or similar). The redesigned MacBook Air can then go to the new L CPU. The bigger iMac and bigger MacBooks Pro can go to the X. Or they only introduce an M2 for now, and it's only used for the bigger computers, and the existing ones stay on the M1 for a little longer.
• for 2022, we get the M3L, M2 and M3X. I'm not quite sure what they'll do with the Mac Pro. M3Z?

 

[citysnaps]

So many people will be disappointed they 'didn't wait' when this appears.

That wouldn't be me. I bought an M1 16/1TB MBA in early December and am amazed how nice it is. After 5 months of use there's nothing I don't like. It's super quick, SSD speed is astonishing, perfect keyboard, no touchbar, light weight, and battery life is superb.

For day-in day-out portable *laptop* use if it were twice as fast it would make no difference. For more serious computing I am holding out for an M2-based 30(+)" iMac, where the extra speed and I/O would matter.

 

[raccoontail]

Do you think there will be a bigger version of M2 MacBook Air??

I would guess the MBA stays the same size with M1 only for quite a while. Any upgrades will be in the MBP line.

 

[deeddawg]

A desktop in 2021 with 16 gb max for over $1000 is a laughing stock.

Why?

If it does what a family needs for their "family computer" and they're willing to pay the premium for the 24" 4.5K DCI-P3 display and macOS, why would it be a laughing stock?

 

[UltimateSyn]

I wonder if they would put a ~12-core M2 in a product before the 8-core consumer-oriented version trickles down into the MBA, 13" MBP, etc. Their pattern has been to always release the baseline variant of a chip before its more advanced counterpart (X, Z in the past) but they don't necessarily have to adhere to that moving forward.

 

[rpmurray]

Apple said in 2020 that it would take the company two years to fully transition from Intel chipsets to Apple silicon.

It's nice that the hardware teams can tell marketing to shove it and they have to wait for a couple years. I really wish the software teams (especially those working on macOS) were able to do the same but apparently marketing has them on a yearly cycle, ready or not.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I don't give a flying **** about previous intel performance. Back then it made sense to buy an air as a portable machine and an imac as a workstation. Now it doesn't. Maybe with the bigger imac it will, but that means that it just became much more expensive for the same category.

You are confusing configurability with user extendability. A desktop in 2021 with 16 gb max for over $1000 is a laughing stock.

Basse iMac as a workstaton? Hahahah. No on in their right minds would do that, and if they did, this new one is a better option for that,

It's the exact same board as in the Air. It's about comparison with current gen in-house competition, not with Intels.

It’s an upgrade to the original - its very simple.

 

[TechZeke]

Hrmm I was just going to replace my 2014 Mac Mini (which is struggling because I made the mistake of putting the OS on an external SSD, encrypting it, and making everything APFS which apparently is the "screw your Mac over trifecta") with a Macbook Air.... should I hold off? I don't really use the Mac that often since my work computer is a Surface...

I would get it now; Even even if the Air was somehow getting a new chip in the Fall, the M1 can already beat most current high performance Intel machines. An M1 would already be overkill if you're coming from a 7 year old Intel processor. I considered waiting but there is always something new around corner, that is the nature of technology. A new machine doesn't make your current one automatically slower.

 

[satchmo]

But some still won’t buy them if they come with a white bezel. 😁

 

[Mescagnus]

I'm expecting some ridiculously desperate new ads from Intel.