Gurman: Apple Planning M2 Pro Mac Mini, New Apple TV With A14 Chip, Revamped HomePod With S8 Chip, and More

[Warped9]

Is the implication that Apple is skipping an M2-anything iMac?

No, I’m pretty sure we’re going to see an M2 iMac. Apple’s thinking seems to be you can get similar performnce from different devices. Hence an M1 MacBook, iMac or iPad Pro. So if M2 goes into MacBook and iPad Pro then logically it should also go into the iMac to maintain the similar performance regardless of form factor.

The question isn’t if the iMac gets M2, but when.

 

[ian87w]

And I'll bet those M3 MacBook Air will still only come with 8GB RAM pre-configured, along with 256GB SSD on one chip (so you get half the actual potential speed).

 

[Biro]

I'm just hoping the M2 Pro Mac Mini won't be priced too close to the base Mac Studio. Otherwise, why bother?

 

[EugW]

And I'll bet those M3 MacBook Air will still only come with 8GB RAM pre-configured, along with 256GB SSD on one chip (so you get half the actual potential speed).

I see nothing wrong with that. 8 GB RAM and 256 GB SSD are perfectly fine for mainstream Monterey users with relatively light needs, which are a huge chunk of the MacBook Air buying population, and I suspect it will be perfectly fine for a couple more years too.

Regarding storage, even 128 GB can be OK for light users with decently sized iCloud accounts. I have many hundreds of GBs of Photos, yet my 256 GB MacBook's storage isn't a problem, since the MacBook doesn't need to store it all locally.

 

[Premium1]

I hope there is an option for an upgraded full-sized homepod without a screen. I just need a smart speaker, don't want to be gouged an extra $100-200 for a screen I will never use.

 

[Project Alice]

My A10 Apple TV is super fast and fluid and does everything it should. Not sure what the point of a chip upgrade serves other than bragging rights.

 

[EugW]

My A10 Apple TV is super fast and fluid and does everything it should. Not sure what the point of a chip upgrade serves other than bragging rights.

I see occasional stutters in the menu with my A10X (not A10) Apple TV. A12 reportedly has fewer stutters (although I can't confirm that since I don't have one).

Also, the A12 model supports 4K HDR YouTube IIRC. Not that I care though, since I don't use YouTube much on Apple TV. Most importantly though, the A12 gets a new remote. I despise the remote for my A10X model. However, I can't get myself to spend the cash to buy a new remote. I may consider waiting a while longer and just buy the new A14 Apple TV 4K, and move the older A10X Apple TV 4K to a different TV. Or else I may just want a couple more years for a new A16 Apple TV.

 

[Silencio]

To appeal to a younger audience, Apple will rename its smart speaker to HOMIEPOD.

Maybe to appeal to older Gen X'ers who were there for the first wave of hip hop. I can't think any Millennial or younger person who says "Homie".

 

[MayaUser]

You don't seem to understand what volume production means. I had edited my post above, but you may not have seen it, so I'll repeat it here. Apple "volume production" is an entirely different matter from press release "volume production". Just about nobody thinks Apple's A16 will be in N3. I have not yet seen a single analyst anywhere claim that A16 will be 3 nm.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1530849357154914304

so you trust more KUO who lately is a mess....Not him, not me, knows what Apple will do with the M2 pro/max
At least you edited your post
But HVM means Apple if they want they can make the M2 pro/max available 3nm since the 14"/16" are not iphones that are massively sold
trust the supplier more than an twitter account that was wrong before ....TSMC says 3nm will be HVM(high massive manufacture)!
A16 for the iphone will not be N3 because iphones is selling in tens of millions of units while the M2 pro/Max will not need the same volume

TSMC to start mass production of 3nm 'M2 Pro' later this year - 9to5Mac

Apple this week unveiled the new M2 chip, which is the first upgrade to the Apple Silicon chips created specifically...

9to5mac.com

And like i said...and i quote my self for you to understand..."IT SHOULD come with 3nm" i never wrote that it will come! learn to understand what are you reading. The 5nm M2 pro will be so insignificant compared to the M1 pro...that will be an embarrassment
So it depends on Apple if they want more profit and stay with A16 based or goes with full 3nm process since the tech will be available in Q4 2022 according with their supplier.
Not to mention if apple release in December the macbook pros M2 pro/max with 5nm, the next generation will be in 2024....for Apple to come with 3nm in 2024 will be kind of a shame! remember the macs are almost 18months cycle...and not on 12 months/or sooner like the iphone
But stay with KUO ) im out of this discussion

 

[Hildy]

It would be nice if they rebuilt AirPort, having moved to NetGear Orbi for a home network is so buggy. It would be great to see all of the home devices act as AirPort satellites too.

 

[symphony]

I heard they are dropping M2 mini with iPhone and HomePod

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

The problem with M1 ATV:

A14 will be plenty for streaming. The benefit of the M1 would only serve as gaming.

Every ATV having an M1 would be a largely overpowered device.

What they COULD do, is have Apple TV 4K, and Apple TV Arcade, and go heavily in gaming with that. M1, higher RAM, higher storage.

Game Devs going in on that is the next step. But AS is going to move the needle a lot for gaming on Mac.

Apple would need to take that momentum and push to a gaming centric ATV (Apple TV Arcade, “Pro” sounds weird).

 

[Silencio]

It would be nice if they rebuilt AirPort, having moved to NetGear Orbi for a home network is so buggy. It would be great to see all of the home devices act as AirPort satellites too.

I just can't see where Apple can add value to home routers / wireless home networking at the moment. I do think a router makes more sense as a home automation gateway than, say, an Apple TV or a smart speaker, but I don't think it's worth their while to go back there.

Not all mesh systems are bad, either. We've had an Eero Pro system for a few years and it's been great — it replaced a patched together "mesh" system I created with a couple of Airport 802.11ac units and works much, much better.

 

[EugW]

The problem with M1 ATV:

A14 will be plenty for streaming. The benefit of the M1 would only serve as gaming.

Every ATV having an M1 would be a largely overpowered device.

What they COULD do, is have Apple TV 4K, and Apple TV Arcade, and go heavily in gaming with that. M1, higher RAM, higher storage.

Game Devs going in on that is the next step. But AS is going to move the needle a lot for gaming on Mac.

Apple would need to take that momentum and push to a gaming centric ATV (Apple TV Arcade, “Pro” sounds weird).

Yeah, if every Apple TV were M1 powered, they would likely increase the price substantially. In that context, I suspect they'd lose the majority of their Apple TV unit sales. So, that's not going to happen.

As you say, an alternative is that they could sell a high end M1 powered model for gaming for a higher price while keeping A series for lower priced Apple TVs, but somehow I don't see them doing that either. Apple games are built for A series anyway, and it doesn't seem likely that Apple is going after the hardcore gaming console market in the near term.

The most likely IMO is they'll just continue to use A series chips, which will handle Apple Arcade stuff just fine.

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

Yeah, if every Apple TV were M1 powered, they would likely increase the price substantially. In that context, I suspect they'd lose the majority of their Apple TV unit sales. So, that's not going to happen.

As you say, an alternative is that they could sell a high end M1 powered model for gaming for a higher price while keeping A series for lower priced Apple TVs, but somehow I don't see them doing that either. Apple games are built for A series anyway, and it doesn't seem likely that Apple is going after the hardcore gaming console market in the near term.

The most likely IMO is they'll just continue to use A series chips, which will handle Apple Arcade stuff just fine.

Exactly. I expect it to remain A series, 1-2 generations behind iPhone at the launch of that ATV model. I really don’t think M series will make its way into ATV.

 

[Icaras]

I'm ready for the M2 Mini.

And I’m ready for the M2 Pro Mini!

 

[arian71]

I wonder why Gurman is not cashing in around publicity space.. his name is mentioned here every other thread on this forum, while a lot off youtube Iinfluencers barely do get mentioned here. Is that because macrumors is a small community ?

 

[SuperCachetes]

Its weird (that) Apple had the luxury to plan their chip naming scheme and chose such confusing and overlapping names like Pro, Max, Ultra, Extreme. From a customer perspective, these name are not particularly great to know which one is appropriate to their needs. Arguably, people in the market for an M2 Ultra or M2 Extreme chip will probably already know what they need, but still, I think Apple could have chosen something more simple and coherent

But other than this minor detail, I’m very curious to se the capabilities of this M2 Extreme chip, even if I’m far from needing one

Yep. There isn't necessarily an obvious English-language hierarchy between all those adjectives they're throwing around, so (if Gurman is correct) they are sortof trying to manufacture one. Weird, indeed.

Many of us got used to the fact that the "Pro" name is not to be taken 100% literally, but Apple branding is still a memefest when it comes to some of this stuff. I wish they would choose ANY other way (...okay, except maybe not "Late-2022 Processor") to brand these SoCs.

 

[Delorean2006]

All I care about is the M2 iMac to replace my 2015 27 inch iMac. That’ll be a huge upgrade for me and my workflow since I work from home.

 

[EugW]

Yep. There isn't necessarily an obvious English-language hierarchy between all those adjectives they're throwing around, so (if Gurman is correct) they are sortof trying to manufacture one. Weird, indeed.

Many of us got used to the fact that the "Pro" name is not to be taken 100% literally, but Apple branding is still a memefest when it comes to some of this stuff. I wish they would choose ANY other way (...okay, except maybe not "Late-2022 Processor") to brand these SoCs.

Actually, I find Apple's naming scheme, although far from perfect, way easier to understand than the naming schemes from the competition.

M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, M2 Ultra. Not very complicated. Pro and Max is clear to most partially because the same naming is used for the ubiquitous iPhones. Max and Ultra could be confused by the uninitiated I suppose, but the pricing differences on their website makes it obvious immediately.

Adding M2 Extreme or something like that could cause a bit more confusion, but as mentioned earlier, my prediction (without any inside info) is that these chips could be called something else entirely because of the use of a different memory architecture.

BTW, while Gurman has been proven to be very accurate for the tech details of the M1 series chips, IIRC he didn't actually predict any of the names. So while I believe the Mac Pro chips will be based around M2 cores, I suspect that "Extreme" name is just a placeholder for him until we know what the actual name is.

I am hopeful we will see the Mac Pro this fall. I'm not counting on it, and I wouldn't buy one, but I'm just curious to see what Apple will bring to the table in such a desktop. BTW, we already KNOW it's coming, since Apple said so itself, so it's just a matter of when.

All I care about is the M2 iMac to replace my 2015 27 inch iMac. That’ll be a huge upgrade for me and my workflow since I work from home.

My friend with the 2014 27" iMac got sick of waiting, so he just bought a Mac Studio with Apple Studio Display. I personally will keep my 2017 27" iMac for quite some time, and it officially gets macOS 13 Ventura too. However, I will replace my 2014 Mac mini with either an M2 or M2 Pro Mac mini, to be used with my 30" Cinema HD Display.

I would love to see a 27-29" Apple Silicon iMac get released, but at this point I'm not 100% sure it will see the light of day.

 

[Rafterman]

Insert Futurama Fry "TAKE MY MONEY" gif here for that.

OK.

 

[FFabian]

All I care about is the M2 iMac to replace my 2015 27 inch iMac.

Do you think the M2 iMac will be a new 27inch variant instead of just an update to the existing "new" 24inch iMac?

 

[Tyler O'Bannon]

Do you think the M2 iMac will be a new 27inch variant instead of just an update to the existing "new" 24inch iMac?

I think the iMac will be 24” (23.5”) and always be M2 etc., and the iMac Pro will be 27” and feature M2 Pro and Max, etc.

 

[name99]

Count me in for the new Apple TV, holding off on buying one for my media room/cat playroom for just this reason.

A new homepod with an S8 chip? Huh?

The biggest problem with Apple TV right now is that it doesn't use the DRAM it has very well, specifically it is far too aggressive is killing off apps that are just sitting in the background.

That wouldn't normally be a problem except Streaming TV apps are notoriously user hostile in terms of refusing to resume where the app was killed off, so it's a constant round of "Restart Prime, then have to tap multiple times to find what you were watching and resume it". And Netflix is even worse.
Hell even Apple TV.app sucks in this respect.

I'd be happy to buy a newer aTV box IF THIS WERE FIXED. But it wasn't fixed (or even slightly improved) going from the A8 version to the A12 version, so I have zero confidence it would be improved this time round.

 

[EugW]

The biggest problem with Apple TV right now is that it doesn't use the DRAM it has very well, specifically it is far too aggressive is killing off apps that are just sitting in the background.

That wouldn't normally be a problem except Streaming TV apps are notoriously user hostile in terms of refusing to resume where the app was killed off, so it's a constant round of "Restart Prime, then have to tap multiple times to find what you were watching and resume it". And Netflix is even worse.
Hell even Apple TV.app sucks in this respect.

I'd be happy to buy a newer aTV box IF THIS WERE FIXED. But it wasn't fixed (or even slightly improved) going from the A8 version to the A12 version, so I have zero confidence it would be improved this time round.

To fix this would probably require additional RAM and SSD-based swap file support, which could mean larger storage tiers.

So I am guessing this won't be fixed.

Also, in my household it isn't a huge issue. We have multiple users using multiple different user profiles anyway, so if an app jumps back to the user profile selection page, that works out well for us.