Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple's Rumored 12-Inch MacBook Could Be Pro Model With M2 Pro and M2 Max
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The reason they didn't put an M1 in the iPhone 12 is the same reason they won't put the M2 Max in this theoretical 12" MacBook. There's no performance benefit because the extra cores would be too thermally constrained to make any difference.
The M1 already throttles under sustained load in the 13" MacBook Air. The M2 GPU is going to use even more power. If you put something in a 12" chassis with 20-40 GPU cores, you'll get almost no extra performance beyond the standard M2 because it's too thermally constrained.
Using MaxTech as your source is your first mistake. These guys are clowns.
Battery life will "go DOWN" in the 10 core GPU in the same way the battery life "goes DOWN" with the M1 Max vs the M1 Pro.
They will forever be trying to drum up clicks and engagement with their stupid takes.
Given the thermals of a MBA, this idea sounds only slightly more feasible than a PowerBook G5. And it's hard for me to imagine a "Pro" line having a 12" model. But I guess we'll see...
2023? 2024? Do you know how many of us will be dead by then?!
12" MacBook would be adorable. Almost adorable enough to buy.
But then I realized it's not 2023 yet and if the rumor pans out end of 2023 is a long, LONG time from now...
But then I realized it's not 2023 yet and if the rumor pans out end of 2023 is a long, LONG time from now...
Honestly by then I would expect an M3 (@3nm) 12” MacBook. And if the SoC is really improved with a newer architecture, that would be the computer I’d buy. Definitely.
The only doubt would be between the silver and the midnight color.
He was right about iPadOS 16. In fact, right on the money. We got a 'Pro mode' that was only only M1 iPads...it's called Stage Manager. He predicted it would offer windows, full external monitor support.
If it’s wasted die space it’s because you’re not fully using the full resources of the die and that you bought more capacity than you actually needed
Depending on who you believe, the actual number may vary but in general most of the "trackers" seem to think he's right about 85% of the time.
In 2020, when we were all struggling with our i5 MacBook Pros scoring 4k on Geekbench with 2 loud fans, nobody would have thought possible to see a 11-inch fanless tablet scoring 7k without any trouble in a near future.
Yet in 2021 they released the M1 iPad Pro, so I guess we can expect everything.
Available screen area has huge use case impact. A 12” display has 27% less screen are a than a 14” display and 44% less screen area than a 16” display. The reduction is worse when you account for the impact of the notch an the space required for the menu bar.
But anyone paying attention to the Apple Silicon devices at the time, such as the iPhone with the A13 and the iPad Pro with the A12X/Z chips, wasn't that surprised to see the difference between the i5 MacBook Pro and the M1 MacBooks.
And anyone paying attention to the Apple Silicon devices of today, all the M1/Pro/Max/Ultra and M2 devices, would know that it's simply not going to fly trying to put an M2 Max with 40 GPU cores in a 12" Chassis.
The M2 Pro if it has active cooling, maybe. But nothing beyond the M2 if it's passively cooled, which a 12" MacBook probably would be.
Do we really need a laptop smaller than the 13" offerings?
Not buying this: figuratively nor literally.
Not buying this: figuratively nor literally.
This would be a day one buy for me - whether it's a regular M2 or a Pro/Max variant. My 12 inch MacBook still gets near daily use even with an M1 Air around. It's lightness and portability is more iPad like than Mac like.
I struggle to believe M1 Max would go into that chassis though. Perhaps M2 Pro will be on 3nm and will be designed to be cut down even more, so it ends up like some sort of 'M2+'.
I struggle to believe M1 Max would go into that chassis though. Perhaps M2 Pro will be on 3nm and will be designed to be cut down even more, so it ends up like some sort of 'M2+'.
German doesn‘t “predict” anything. Gurman collects rumors from multiple, good and bad sources and then consolidates and publishes them without attribution. He’s a conduit for gossip that’s more often wrong than right.
I have the i7 (M7 intel) 12" and it runs fairly warm. I imagine it runs a lot hotter than a base M1 (or even M2) would now. My 12" M1 iPad Pro doesn't get nearly as hot as my 12" MacBook and I suspect most of the iPad's heat is from the screen. I don't know what thermal characteristics of future Pro/Max variants of Apple Silicon will have, but if they keep them under the Intel chips (maybe by using binned chips with fewer cpu/gpu cores) they may be able to pull it off. Even with the Intel cpu it still got great battery life so I would also expect to see improvements there too with perhaps a smaller battery to give it more breathing room and a square instead of a wedged case.
This doesn't make sense at all. What professional user that requires this kind of computing power for their job is like "yeah and give me a tiny screen to go with it".
YES !
It could be the best road warrior machine: small, light, super portable.
But hook it up to a dock / monitor at home or in an office and it is a monster desktop computer.
Personally I find the 13" M1 Air way to big and heavy to carry around all day, but when at home it is used in "desktop mode" hooked up to an external monitor via a Thunderbolt dock connected to a bunch a peripherals. I could definitely use something smaller and lighter than an 13" Air when I am on the go.
Even a base M2 12" would have enough firepower for most of the people that want a 12", it doesn't have to be a M2 Pro.
Last edited:
I think it all depends on the thickness of the device. If they keep it thick, maybe they can manage to put an active cooling system in it despite having a smaller screen size.
As it is a system on a chip, you may not need as much horizontal space as a traditional laptop, but you may need some vertical space so more air can circulate to cool the system
I do get what you're saying, but the idea of them making a 12" laptop with active cooling does seem pretty bizarre. Maybe it'll happen, but I would be very surprised.
Maybe it does today, but there is precedent with the 12" Aluminum PBG4.