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I guess this would be a reason for an 'event' video if true. There is no way an event based solely on a new iPhone SE and iPad Air would happen.
If the M2 is based on the A15 cores then this chip has probably been ready for a while and is starting to scale-up production now. It will be very interesting to see the performance: in theory, whilst it will be blitzed by the M1 Pro/Max in multicore, it should beat those chips in single core.
 
"Entry level Pro Model" a sentence that should not even exist. Either something is a "Pro" or it is not.
Pro means for professional, I guess there are different level of being pro.

I can live making video or I can work for Holywood....very different scenario and requirements.

Also, it's a marketing thing, people read pro and assume it's better......heck we have "Pro" phones and....

I think many "Pro" user would be good with the "entry level".

What does make something Pro or not.... it's so borderline, I see lots of pro users running base model machines.
 
If this is true and they remove the Touch Bar, what distinguishes an entry-level MacBook Pro from the MacBook Air? Good riddance to the Touch Bar, but at least it was a "feature" that the MacBook Air didn't have. If Apple gives a 13" MacBook Pro the ports of the higher-end MacBook Pros (HDMI, SD Card, MagSafe), it would be a must-buy for me. I don't need the processing power of the M1 Max, but I do need the ports.
 
I hope this is false, I was about to drive 30 miles today to get a 14 Pro because I need a machine and I’m tired of waiting for the iMac and the M2 Air and concluded there was no way in hell it would release this spring.
 
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I hope this is false, I was about to drive 30 miles today to get a 14 Pro because I need a machine and I’m tired of waiting for the iMac and the M2 Air and concluded there was no way in hell it would release this spring.
If you "need" a 14 Pro, there's no need to wait for a 13 Air / Pro ...
M2 does not mean faster than M1 pro / max

If all you need is a machine and can wait , then wait for an M2 Air / pro
 
I hate to call B.S. on a rumor given the last time I did that. But it does seems odd Apple would do this without unveiling the redesigned MacBook Air along side it. And we’ve all read that the new Air is coming in the fall timeframe.
 
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They could announce a new chip in the spring but think a release date would be much later. As others have said they can barely get the M1 Pro and Max out right now, looking at 2 months of waiting for my M1 Max
 
Ooohhh. I'm almost tempted if true. No notch and just an oomph more performance in the GPU-department vs the current M1. As well as probably a fan so I can do long renders in Resolve or play WoW without throttling.
 
Among other things; I fail to believe a new MacBook Pro is being released just 3 months after the last one. If I had bought the 2021 model, I’d be fuming.
 
Although I highly doubt this rumour as still nothing has been registered in the Eurasian database, but it could be plausible for a few reasons:

-If it doesn’t get a redesign or uses a similar chassis to the higher end MBP’s it won’t take much work to get it out there.

-It will be used as a public beta machine before the main M2 machines are launched in the fall (iMac/MacBook Air/iPad Pro/Mac mini).

-The chip is likely ready for mass production already.

-They could also get rid of the production of the Touch Bar, which is now only featured in one single product.

-It could potentially be Apples last low end MBP, having a short life span and ultimately getting replaced with the Air later this year at the same price point, whilst also keeping around the current M1 Air as an entry level MBA.

Overall though I still don’t think this is going to happen, it would make more sense to launch it alongside the other M2 stuff.
 
Timing seems wrong, but at the same time it would enable Apple to maximize sales.

I see it as a way to sell you an M2 laptop twice.

First they will tempt you to upgrade to the new M2 MacBook Pro 13" as it will be the only way to experience the latest and greatest SOC (at least from a power efficiency and single core performance perspective) for a while.

Then after 6 months they will tempt you to upgrade to the new M2 MacBook Air by giving you basically the same performance but in a way slicker design.
 
"Entry level Pro Model" a sentence that should not even exist. Either something is a "Pro" or it is not.
It depends. There's 2 tiers of professionals.
The ones that requires a powerful machine that can render/export things and the ones that don't.

I'm a Designer/Software Developer and I need a capable machine for my workflow.
The base M1/M2 with 16GB of ram is more than enough for and I never got close even to get a hick up from this CPU and is always pushed to the most ridiculous extremes because Apple silicon is damn capable.

I see M1Pro and Max useful only for people that render/export stuff and try to shave off 40-60 seconds.

So yeah there's a need for 2 tiers of pro machines because even the base M1/2 is a pro processor.
 
So a „MacBook“ then

Definitely not what I was getting at 😀

The general idea of a 'MacBook' is that it's a model for the average user, who wants to spend less – with the trade-off being a less premium product.

When you move into the 'Pro' product line, you are spending more in exchange for a more premium product.

Some customers buying MacBook Pro are not "pros" in the sense they don't use the computer for anything particularly demanding, but they prefer to buy a premium product. As they don't want/need the fully-loaded model of the Pro line, there is an entry level.

Another potential customer for an entry-level Pro is someone who wants to buy their first Pro lineup Mac to help with whatever they use a tool for, but cannot afford the top of the line at the outset (and may move further up the product range as they gain more experience and earn more).
 
I think they might be right as it will be like this M1 < M2 < M1Pro / Max in performance, except that the M1 might have slightly better single core and will be more efficient.
 
What, you mean you DON'T believe that Apple will release an M2 "entry-level" 13" MBP in March to instantly leapfrog the M1 Pro and Max systems that were only just introduced, thereby cannibalising sales of the more expensive/lesser-performing machines and introducing a lot of confusion to the their product matrix?
That’s irrelevant and has nothing to do with anything. The M2 will not “leapfrog” the M1 Pro/Max. That’s not how it works.
 
Mac mini. M2 (8 performance, 2 efficiency). 32GB memory. 3 TB3 or better, 2 USB-A. Insta buy from me.
 
Reminds me of trying to explain Audible memberships to my mother yesterday. The base membership appears to be “Audible Plus,” and the next tier up is “Audible Premium Plus.” Do you think Audible has a membership under the “Plus” membership?

Marketing can be so whacked, but what can we expect from Apple after how they name/number iPads and iPhones. Which iPad Air came after the iPad Air? Quick…differences between IPhone XS vs. XR… With an MB Pro and Pro Max available, isn’t the MB Pro already the entry level Pro (after the 13” entry level Pro goes away)? :)
Their is actually a lower level Audible Plan. It’s not marked you have to ask for it or is offered to you when trying yo cancel the Premium Plus. This level do not offer access to the Plus catalog and you only get one credit every other month instead of monthly.
 
Ummm….why does this need to exist? Making it a MacBook or MacBook Air makes more sense?
No.

So for iPad and iPad Air, its good and better, but you want MacBook Air and MacBook to be the opposite as Better and Good?!?

Ridiculous. This machine is named and positioned 100% correctly. It is better than the MacBook Air and several hundred dollars cheaper than the cheapest M1 Pro machine. Big market for professional users who don’t have demanding CPU needs.
 
What a weird lineup if true. The entry level 13” MacBook Pro M2 would need to get the same body as the 14” and 16” MacBook Pros in order to keep its “Pro” name surely? Otherwise what makes it a “Pro”. It wouldn’t have the same chips as the actual MacBook Pros, nor the same ports, nor same the same screen or keyboard. WTF?

I mean if you’re happy to have a different enclosure but still call it a MacBook Pro, then why not just call everything including the Airs a MacBook Pro?

“This is the wedge shaped MacBook Pro here. And here is the squared off MacBook Pro without SD slot and over here are our MacBook Pros with MagSafe!”

:p
 
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