Gurman: Apple Planning No New Mac Releases For Remainder of 2022

[Ethosik]

Plain-Jane M2 chips have been on the street in MBAs and in 13" MBPs for months now. My partner has an M2 MBP and it is a good box. Therefore plain-Jane M1 Minis are outdated because M2 chips do exist on the street in multiple products.

Since M2 Pro/Max chips are not yet on the street you are correct to say M1 Pro/Max boxes are not yet out of date.

It doesn't matter. There is no M2 Mac mini. There is no product to "upgrade" to, therefore the M1 Mac mini is not outdated. By the very definition of outdated. I can't run out and buy an M2 Mac mini. The current, top of the line M* Mac mini is M1. So no, it's not outdated.

The Mac mini could only get upgraded in 2024 for all we know. Apple hasn't issued a notice on timeline. This is all speculation and guessing. So what, we are saying its out of date without any replacement until 2024? Apple hasn't treated the Mac mini as well as other systems. It wouldn't surprise me if it only got updated every other SOC.

I have been at the head of making/approving purchases so its probably my years of experience coming out. We have rules about purchased outdated tech, but I can't with a straight face deny some department from ordering an M1 Mac mini and state its because it is "outdated" if there is no product to purchase instead. There is no M2 Mac mini.

 

[Student of Life]

What some folks apparently fail to grasp is that smart computer purchasing is not about comparing to one's dying computer did yesterday. Smart computer purchasing is about what the new box will be asked to do for the life of the new box. By definition buying M1 already means a year less life in the new box: 2-4 years instead of 3-5 years, or 3-5 years instead of 4-6 years, or whatever.

M1 is a year older and always will be. Folks buying an M1 MBP today will be living with a year older tech for the life of the box as opposed to and M2, and the M1 will EOL a year sooner. E.g. one reason I will be upgrading is because the 2016 MBP that I bought in 2017 (saving ~$1k) can not take Ventura, whereas 2017 MBPs can still take Ventura. EOL a year sooner, and the 2017 MBP versus 2016 MBP was a simple speed bump difference.

I’m curious what your take is on the M2 Air vs the M1 Macbook pro. Considering the price between an equally spec 16/512 is nominal or cheaper on the pro thanks to sales, would you recommend the M2 Air vs an M1 Macbook Pro. One could argue the M2 is newer, at the same time the Pros tend to get extend software support.

 

[slx]

It doesn't matter. There is no M2 Mac mini. There is no product to "upgrade" to, therefore the M1 Mac mini is not outdated. By the very definition of outdated. I can't run out and buy an M2 Mac mini. The current, top of the line M* Mac mini is M1. So no, it's not outdated.

The Mac mini could only get upgraded in 2024 for all we know. Apple hasn't issued a notice on timeline. This is all speculation and guessing. So what, we are saying its out of date without any replacement until 2024? Apple hasn't treated the Mac mini as well as other systems. It wouldn't surprise me if it only got updated every other SOC.

I have been at the head of making/approving purchases so its probably my years of experience coming out. We have rules about purchased outdated tech, but I can't with a straight face deny some department from ordering an M1 Mac mini and state its because it is "outdated" if there is no product to purchase instead. There is no M2 Mac mini.

Ok, no product to "upgrade", but there are multiple products to "migrate to", and that's exactly what I'm going to do as per my initial post

 

[cb3]

Are you excited for free speech to return on twitter?

Yes. I hope it opens up to multiple points of view.

 

[sam_dean]

Yes. I hope it opens up to multiple points of view.

Gotcha.

 

[fpnc]

I was suggesting this way back in December of last year when practically EVERYONE (including Gurman) was saying that Apple would introduce five new Macs in 2022, meaning that practically every Mac would be updated with new silicon during 2022. I said then that this would/could never happen and now it looks like I was right.

Don't believe me? Check out this post from December 2021:

#158

That said, it looks like I was wrong about the Mac Pro which I thought would probably be introduced before the end of 2022. Well, that and I had no idea in 2021 that we were going to get something like the Mac Studio. But, I think I still did better than most of the so-called Apple pundits.

 

[jdb8167]

It doesn't matter. There is no M2 Mac mini. There is no product to "upgrade" to, therefore the M1 Mac mini is not outdated. By the very definition of outdated. I can't run out and buy an M2 Mac mini. The current, top of the line M* Mac mini is M1. So no, it's not outdated.

The Mac mini could only get upgraded in 2024 for all we know. Apple hasn't issued a notice on timeline. This is all speculation and guessing. So what, we are saying its out of date without any replacement until 2024? Apple hasn't treated the Mac mini as well as other systems. It wouldn't surprise me if it only got updated every other SOC.

I have been at the head of making/approving purchases so its probably my years of experience coming out. We have rules about purchased outdated tech, but I can't with a straight face deny some department from ordering an M1 Mac mini and state its because it is "outdated" if there is no product to purchase instead. There is no M2 Mac mini.

It’s also possible that Apple doesn’t intend to release an M2 Mac mini but instead keep the M1 at its current price and introduce an M2 Pro Mac mini at a higher price when the M2 Pro is ready.

It is very hard to predict Apple’s future plans.

 

[theluggage]

A couple of questions that interest me if Apple really gives the customer what they want. Why no 27" iMac?

They don't give the customer (singular) what they want - they produce what they think the greatest number of customers want, what will make them the most money (which goes hand in hand with that) and maybe, bringing up the rear, a bit of strategic thinking to keep the Mac a viable professional platform.

In the case of the 27" 5k iMac, I suspect that it's the price of 5k panels (which are, now, clearly never going to take off outside the Mac world) making the $1800-$2500 iMac models insufficiently profitable. On top of that, the potential customer base is being eroded several ways:

• Anybody in the market for the top i9 iMac configurations or iMac Pro is now very well served by the Mac Studio/Studio Display combination at comparable (i9 iMac) or cheaper (iMac Pro) prices.
• Many of the higher-end iMac customers never really wanted an all-in-one anyway, and the Studio lets them choose their own (possibly much cheaper) displays. Even with Apple displays you now have a choice between the Studio Display and the Pro XDR (or putting up with 4k and sleeping indoors and eating hot meals) which didn't exist before.
• At the other end of the market, the 24" iMac is now bigger, better and faster than before, stealing some 27" customers.
• If you want an affordable 27" system, you can probably put together a M1 Mini and a 3rd party 4k display for under $1000. No, 4k is not as good as 5k for MacOS, but the compromises are hugely exaggerated.
• The Intel iMacs had significant performance advantages over the MacBook Pro - with Apple Silicon there's no significant performance gain from a desktop until you get to the Studio Ultra. So a MacBook/MacBook Pro + Studio display (or cheaper alternative) combo is probably the sensible choice for anybody who ever needs portability

(NB: remember that when the 5k iMac was first launched there was no DisplayPort 1.4 or Thunderbolt 3 that would drive an external 5k display without a dual cable kludge - that's not true any more)

Maybe we'll see a new "large" iMac when there's something new to offer in display technology. I certainly wouldn't invest in an 2022 iMac with the same old display technology (except for slightly brighter backlights) as 2017 with the prospects of miniLED etc. displays appearing during its useful lifetime.

Just think, if in (say) 2018 you'd bought a Mac Mini and a LG 5k instead of an iMac, today you'd just need to buy a Mac Studio, hang onto the old display (at least until something better appeared) and tuck the Mini under the desk as a home server...

 

[prospervic]

1.5 billion Windows PCs/Devices
1.5 billion iOS devices
2 billion Android devices
140 million active Macs in use

Yeah, it’s niche

Those Windows numbers include a huge amount of cheap, low-end devices that are not marketed to the same demographic segment as Apple. Macs enjoy 90% of the over $1000 computer market. If that’s ”niche”, then that’s a niche I like being a part of.

But I’m not going to continue this back and forth, I’ll let you be “right”.

 

[Mr. Dee]

You know that those Windows numbers are historical, and many of those devices have long ago been scrapped or trashed. They also include a huge amount cheap, low end devices that are not in the same demographic segment as Apple. Macs enjoy 90% of the over $1000 computer market. If that’s ”niche”, then that’s the niche I like being a part of.

But I’m not going to continue this back and forth, I’ll let you be “right”.

Why does have to be about berating the competition with useless facts? You do know that’s actually 1.5 billion Windows 10/11 devices connecting to the Internet? Same as a iPhone 5s that’s not getting any updates, but still can browse the Internet. Unless you went around the world and checked all 1.5 billion devices, keep your ‘enthusiasm’ in check please.

 

[prospervic]

Why does have to be about berating the competition with useless facts? You do know that’s actually 1.5 billion Windows 10/11 devices connecting to the Internet? Same as a iPhone 5s that’s not getting any updates, but still can browse the Internet. Unless you went around the world and checked all 1.5 billion devices, keep your ‘enthusiasm’ in check please.

“Enthusiastic” Apple stockholder here, who’s seen his portfolio increase greatly over the last few years. Nothing to keep “in check” (except the profit$ should I ever decide to sell). Keep on doing your “niche” thing, Apple!

 

[aibloop]

Or it means that the broadly stated goal of completing the transition in about 2 years has been affected by the ********* events of the last two years and recent delays in TSMC’s ramp up on their new N3 process which is still in preproduction testing. There is not some big countdown clock where a ball drops and we all walk out and buy a Dell because the Mac Pro hasn’t shipped yet.

I think Apple knows that they need to offer an equivalent to Nvidia's RT raytracing tech for Mac Pro. It just wont make sense for high-end rendering to buy something that cannot accellerate ray-tracing and similar work (comp shots). Alot of high end gfx shops rely on realtime 3d preview and boosted rendering of 3d shots. (M2 doesn't have em, hopefully M3 does)

Which is why I think a step to M3 is worth it IF it provides the RT cores needed. And a strategically better move overall if it can finally shutter the reviewers.

For 2d work, M1 variants and M2 is incredible. ALSO, latest upgrades to apple pro suite, seem to be boosting 3d performance in general. So M1 Max/Ultra is more of a buy now then at release for me personally. BUT... I will wait for M3 in the hopes of RT raytracing cores. To update my main workhorse.

 

[Mr. Dee]

“Enthusiastic” Apple stockholder here, who’s seen his portfolio increase greatly over the last few years. Nothing to keep “in check” (except the profit$ should I ever decide to sell). Keep on doing your “niche” thing, Apple!

All these company's are successful, you invested in any of them, you are winner anyway. I am invested in both Microsoft and Apple and I can't complain.

 

[dalestrauss]

Just curious: Whatever is it that you think is wrong with segregating product lines?

It's a non-functional segregating of product lines solely to upsell prior users who benefited from dual displays on teh Intel MacBook Air.

 

[Samuel Sosa]

I believe the M1 was a break through they are no longer relying on Intel for their chips so they call the shots now. Apple can release whenever they see a need and a fit. What "Pro" user that just dropped 2-3k for a machine is going to upgrade to an M2 chip. Apple has gotten to the point that all of their products are pretty fast. In order for there to be sales the performance upgrade would need to be 2 to 3 times . which is not theoretically possible yet. It's not just the chip, it's Ram, Storage, Thermals. Im still running on a 2019 16in MBP and it runs great. If you are still on intel I can see the disappointment. But current M1 users are not gonna trade up just because there is a spec bump. Personally im gonna run this Mac until it becomes vintage LOL.

 

[patrickw9]

My Mac office has been waiting ... and waiting and waiting ...
Mac Pro (with expansion capability): Mid-2012 to 2019
iMac 27": late 2014 to ? (maybe next year?)
Mini: late 2014 to late 2020 (to next year?)

One imagines that the hardware developers at Apple are totally out of touch with the needs of those of us who use Macs for actual work.

 

[ryanmp]

Yes a lot of people really wished for a M1 Pro large iMac after the 24” M1 iMac was announced. But the April 2021 24” iMac is not outdated. It’s actually the best implementation M1 design with great thermal cooling that Apple came up with. Its color scheme caused many to buy a color that they design a room’s decoration around. The 6 speaker audio, was eventually incorporated in the Oct 2021 14”/16” MBP. The 24” replaced the older 21” iMac BTW.

Unfortunately still with a screen size that is outdated. 24inch is just too small. It only makes sense alongside a larger screen option like the previous iterations of iMac.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Man, even a stopped watch is right twice a day. It almost feels as though Gurman has been wrong more times in 2022 than he's been right.

 

[symphony1010]

This statement doesn't make any sense.

The first M1 Macs got released roughly 2 years ago. Most people are not upgrading their PCs every 1-2 years (more like 3-5 years for pros, and 6-7 years for average consumers). Right now, Apple's bigger challenge is likely sorting our their supply chain in China so they can continue to release more hardware to sell to people still on intel Macs.


And Apple accomplishes this by making great products that people are willing to pay a premium for, so our incentives are aligned in this regard at least.

I don't think people are shelling out money for products that they don't enjoy using. At least, if they are doing so, that says more about them than it does about Apple.

Thanks for your thoughtful response which I mostly accept. I would only add that older, non-tech friends who have 27" iMacs keep asking me about them and have refrained from upgrading to the Studio because it's too expensive and the Mac Mini because they don't have a monitor and don't want the extra clutter. It's just too much for them to work out and be bothered with. These are people who enjoyed looking at their photos on the large screen and wrote a few emails.

The scaling issue is something I haven't been able to check out for myself so I haven't gone with a 4K monitor. I would buy a 27" or 32" 5K monitor with no sound but the LG is criticised as expensive and plasticky with quality control issues.

I can't see any solid advice from manufacturers like Dell or Asus regarding the use of their monitors with Macs and the only 5K model Dell produce is a huge widescreen.

As a result I run Windows 11 and a M1 Mac Mini through a Dell 24" Ultrasharp.

The point is that I am a potential customer and none of these companies seem to want my money that badly. Wanting a large, compatible, well-made monitor should not be 'niche'.

 

[Abazigal]

I would only add that older, non-tech friends who have 27" iMacs keep asking me about them and have refrained from upgrading to the Studio because it's too expensive and the Mac Mini because they don't have a monitor and don't want the extra clutter. It's just too much for them to work out and be bothered with. These are people who enjoyed looking at their photos on the large screen and wrote a few emails.

I agree that the 27" iMac seems to be in a very weird spot at the moment. There are people like me who love it for the gorgeous 5k display, don't really do anything heavy on it, and like that it takes up so little space on the desk. But for a while, it was also the only real viable "pro" Mac desktop, and pro users hated that it wasn't upgradable, throttled easily and they couldn't use a monitor of their own preference.

For now, the 24" iMac seems to be trying to fill the gap for the first group of user, and the Mac Studio + Studio Display for the latter. I am not sure if we will ever see another 27" iMac for more causal users, but I have been wrong before.

 

[_Spinn_]

So Apple has failed on their promise of a 2 year transition to Apple Silicon since we won’t be seeing a new Mac Pro this year.

 

[exoticSpice]

So Apple has failed on their promise of a 2 year transition to Apple Silicon since we won’t be seeing a new Mac Pro this year.

Yeah

 

[Tagbert]

So Apple has failed on their promise of a 2 year transition to Apple Silicon since we won’t be seeing a new Mac Pro this year.

What ”promise”?

In June, 2020, just 3 months after the start of the Covid lockdowns, Apple said that they had a goal of completing the transition in about 2 years. Sounds more like an aspiration than a promise. In the meantime, things have not gone 100% smoothly in the world of computers. Supply chains are still a mess. TSMC said that they are just now doing preproduction runs on their M3 process.

If it takes a few more months before we see the Mac Pro, I’m not planning on losing sleep over it.

 

[_Spinn_]

What ”promise”?

In June, 2020, just 3 months after the start of the Covid lockdowns, Apple said that they had a goal of completing the transition in about 2 years. Sounds more like an aspiration than a promise. In the meantime, things have not gone 100% smoothly in the world of computers. Supply chains are still a mess. TSMC said that they are just now doing preproduction runs on their M3 process.

If it takes a few more months before we see the Mac Pro, I’m not planning on losing sleep over it.

Alright promise was a bad word choice. I should have said "plan".

 

[Superrenz]

I have a 2012 iMac 27" and I want a iMac 27" M2.

My guess is that the iMac 27" did not sell well.

Another possibility is supply chain constraints that makes it more profitable to have the current mix of Macs.

Maybe that is why they will delay the new M2 MacBooks....