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Evidence of M2 Apple Silicon Chip Spotted Ahead of Apple Event on Tuesday

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Evidence that Apple is testing the M2 Apple silicon chip, expected to debut first in a new MacBook Air and refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro, has been spotted by a developer ahead of Tuesday's "Peek performance" Apple event.

m2-feature-purple.jpg

As reported by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman in his latest Power On newsletter, a "developer source" has informed him that in recent weeks, Apple has been testing a chip with an eight-core CPU and a 10-core GPU across multiple Macs on the latest macOS beta.
I'm told from a developer source that Apple has been testing multiple Macs with a new chip in recent weeks that includes an eight-core CPU (four efficiency cores and four high-performance cores) and 10 GPU cores. Those are exactly the specifications of the M2 chip I detailed last year.

Apple has been testing this new chip on machines running macOS 12.3 (which should be released in the next week or two and run on the new Macs) and a future macOS 12.4, as well as macOS 13, which will be previewed in June at WWDC 2022.
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A similar story played out ahead of Apple's Mac-focused event in October, in which the M1 Pro and M1 Max chip names were spotted in app logs.

Apple's M2 Apple silicon chip will be the first significant upgrade for Apple's custom silicon on the Mac since Apple unveiled its M1 architecture in November 2020. Apple has since introduced more powerful iterations of the M1 chip, including the M1 Pro and M1 Max.

The M2 chip is thought to make its way first to an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro and a completely redesigned MacBook Air. Gurman said today that a new Mac mini, expected to feature M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, is "ready to go" and could launch next week. A new 13-inch MacBook Pro and a new iMac could launch "as soon as the first half of the year," Gurman added.

Gurman reiterated his expectations for Apple's "Peek performance" event on Tuesday. As widely reported by previous rumors and leaks, a new iPhone SE with the same 4.7-inch design as the previous model is expected to be announced, but with the addition of 5G connectivity and a new chip.

A new iPad Air is also rumored to make its debut at the event, featuring the A15 chip, Center Stage, and 5G connectivity. Alongside the new iPhone, iPad, and at least one new Apple silicon Mac, Gurman said that a fourth "wildcard" announcement is possible.

Apple's event will kick off at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday, March 8. In addition to being streamed on YouTube, the event can also be watched through the events webpage and in the Apple TV app. If you're unable to watch, you can tune in to MacRumors on the site or through our MacRumorsLive Twitter account. For a detailed rundown of everything we expect, see our guide.

Article Link: Evidence of M2 Apple Silicon Chip Spotted Ahead of Apple Event on Tuesday
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/03/06/m2-apple-silicon-spotted-ahead-of-event/
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For those who dont want to wait for macr to post other articles about what gurman also said here its whats left of his post
“
Gurman also said
I also wouldn’t rule out Apple previewing its next-generation external display. I’m told Apple actually completed work on it months ago, and the device was due to launch soon after last year’s MacBook Pro. Apple’s last in-house monitor came in 2019 alongside the Intel Mac Pro. A monitor would also explain the “peek” spelling.”

“I don’t believe the new iMac Pro or Mac Pro are ready to go on sale imminently, but perhaps Apple wants to preview at least one of those machines ahead of a release a little later this year.”
 
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LeadingHeat said:
*crosses fingers*
AR Glasses… AR Glasses… AR Glasses…
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Apple Glasses are not coming for the next 2-3 years at least.

It's either going to be the VR headset (unlikely) or upcoming new external displays (Gurman said that today)
 
MayaUser said:
For those who dont want to wait for macr to post other articles about what gurman also said here its whats left of his post
“
Gurman also said
... A monitor would also explain the “peek” spelling.”
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And three days ago he said it was clear peek performance = 5G for the iPhone SE, new Macs with Apple Silicon and iPad Air with an A15.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1499095528457613312
 
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cwwilson said:
Depending on what these look like, I may well be in line for an M2 MBA in a few months so I really hope they don't do anything too crazy with the design!
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Same here. I’m overdue to upgrade, but my 15” MBP is still performing great - but a lot of newer macOS features are not supported. Hoping new MBA gets a 14” display and offers black bezels.
 
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sananda said:
And three days ago he said it was clear peek performance = 5G for the iPhone SE, new Macs with Apple Silicon and iPad Air with an A15.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1499095528457613312
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yes, that means the iphone SE, new mac , ipad iar are coming for sure, and probably with the new mac mini a peek or a new monitor to go sell along side with mac mini
So this event, from a bored , that was 2 months ago when we knew just about the SE ipad air and the mac mini with m1pro/max...now we can have a proper event with
- iphone SE
- ipad air
- mac mini with m1pro/max (maybe an M2 mac mini for that $699 starting price)
- M2 13" macbook pro
- new Apple external display
This event should be 1 hour
 
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wonder if this means we would see a m2 iPad Pro at some point. Which would be awesome if your a stat nerd but truthfully the m1 is still way overpowered for iPad OS.
 
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magicschoolbus said:
wonder if this means we would see a m2 iPad Pro at some point. Which would be awesome if your a stat nerd but truthfully the m1 is still way overpowered for iPad OS.
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The M2 is supposed to be more energy efficient, which can make a meaningful difference on iPad Pros. I got a M1 12.9" and its battery life isn't the best among iPads I have used. But if that's is the only upgrade then I agree it is a hard sell, kind of like when the 2020 got A12Z over the 2018 A12X and that's more or less about it.
 
Chancha said:
The M2 is supposed to be more energy efficient, which can make a meaningful difference on iPad Pros. I got a M1 12.9" and its battery life isn't the best among iPads I have used. But if that's is the only upgrade then I agree it is a hard sell, kind of like when the 2020 got A12Z over the 2018 A12X and that's more or less about it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I feel an M1 iPad is grossly overpowered I mean I'd love to have the 1TB M1 iPad Pro for that juicy 16GB of RAM but for running iPadOS that's insane overkill even the A12Z in my current iPad is no slouch and it will go strong for many more years.
 
I’m still confused by the idea that apple will release the M2 or even talk about it before the high end desktops are released. if they do, pro customers and the media will lament that these new desktops have the older processors And not Apple’s best of the best, people will wait since the new M2 Max will be around the corner. Etc.

either the rumor mill is dead wrong or I really don’t get this strategy.
 
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May be the M2 will be using HP core from A16 on a 4nm to be used as pipe cleaning for A16. It would surely be "Peak" performance if it was based on A16. Breaking 2K on GB5.
 
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Not that it matters, but it's M2 more like an "iteration" and M1 Pro/Max as significant upgrades.
Personally waiting for new M2 Air most likely, but I'd really like that MBP 13" not having M2 but 8 Core M1 Pro, everything would be much clearer and easier, might even consider that too :)
 
This new entry level MacBook Pro and the redesigned MacBook Air better have more than two USB C ports if they plan on it being a practical setup with the new 27 inch Studio Display. Hopefully 4 USB C ports or 3 USB C + 1 HDMI in addition to the return of mag safe. Luckily I just have one 24 inch monitor to drive and still be able to charge my M1 MBP at the same time. But it sucks if I need to disconnect and connect external storage.
 
If all the rumors pan out, Tuesday could be a good day for macOS users:
  • MacBook Pro 13.3" with M2
  • Mac mini with M2
  • iMac 24" with M2
  • iMac 27" with M1 Pro / M1 Max
  • Apple Thunderbolt Display 5K
 
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BWhaler said:
I’m still confused by the idea that apple will release the M2 or even talk about it before the high end desktops are released. if they do, pro customers and the media will lament that these new desktops have the older processors And not Apple’s best of the best, people will wait since the new M2 Max will be around the corner. Etc.

either the rumor mill is dead wrong or I really don’t get this strategy.
Click to expand...
The M1 is still only 1 year 4 months old, the most recent products the M1 based iPad Pros, and first redesigned 24" iMac is only 10 months ago. Now we are talking about a somewhat faster SoC than a M1 with 2 more GPU's whats that got that excites anyone compared to the M1 Pro and M1 Max. I guess maybe it could be able to utilize 32 GB of Ram and still be very energy efficient? It could be a SoC that is inside the 7K display that is being discussed, not even in a Mac.
 
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