Errr. this is same chassis that had an Intel CPU+GPU package in it. Like it was not already designed for higher TDP than a M1. The TDP capacity here is overkill for an M1. There is no massive redesign needed at all.
MBP 13" two ports mid 2020
support.apple.com
"...
- 1.4GHz quad-core 8th‑generation Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz, with 128MB of eDRAM
Configurable to 1.7GHz quad-core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz, with 128MB of eDRAM
- Built-in 58.2-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
- 61W USB-C Power Adapter
- Height: 0.61 inch (1.56 cm)
- Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
- Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)
- Weight: 3.1 pounds (1.4 kg)3
..."
MBP 13" M1 ( two ports ) late 2020
support.apple.com
"...
- Apple M1 chip
8-core CPU with 4 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores
8-core GPU
16-core Neural Engine
- Built-in 58.2-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery
- 61W USB-C Power Adapter
- Height: 0.61 inch (1.56 cm)
- Width: 11.97 inches (30.41 cm)
- Depth: 8.36 inches (21.24 cm)
- Weight: 3.0 pounds (1.4 kg)3
... "
Same case , battery, and power supply. Same thing. Can handle a i7-8557U ( 14nm ) processor at 'Intel' base of 15W ( and likely quite higher if engaged turbo on CPU and GPU . )
Intel® Core™ i7-8557U Processor (8M Cache, up to 4.50 GHz) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.
ark.intel.com
[ i7-8659 base TDP is 28W which clocked a bit higher (hence more indicative of what the performance mode consumption would be. ]
But can't take the approximately 28-32W of the M1 Pro CPUs ? It is the same ballpark. Even more so of walk back to 8 cores and just 14 GPUs.
The system would not be "whisper quiet" all the time, but case not being able to handle the load... not really. Apple might have to cap the all core frequency slightly and perhaps not use the max GPU count but it could be done straightforwardly. The case infrastructure being used here was never heavily optimized for the M1. It is the old Intel stuff.
They are somewhat cramped for logic board space but somewhat just reused the old Intel board as a template for the M1 version.
Past, meet future—it’s a mix of old and new in our dual teardown of the newest M1-powered MacBooks.
www.ifixit.com
If move the larger M1 Pro closer to the fan then won't need three standoffs for the heat pipe and can just use some of that space for the SoC itself. But there are a few "blank" sections to he logic board that a bigger SoC could consume if move some of the components around. They probably would need to make the speakers a bit smaller to grow the logic board slightly but that would not be a major task. Basically four parts changed. Logicboard which has to change regardless of M2 or M1 Pro . Heat spreader/Head Pipe (which might have to change for M2 also). Left and Right Speaker.
The one quirk might be if there is no eDP output for the Touch Bar on the M1 Pro and there is one for the M2. That is kinds of depends upon when Apple decided to 'kill' the Touch Bar. Given Apple's history on slow keyboard changes I'd surprised if they killed it in the M1 Pro. Maybe by the M2 but they could have been still toying with the idea at that point too in early design phase. [ If the Touch Bar is nuked then wouldn't matter. I have a feeling it is not and "but well already added the support in the design" is one contributing reason not going away very quickly. ]
No. The M1 Max wouldn't fit in the MBP 13" two port case. So it isn't going. The M1 Pro is far too big for an iPad. The M1 Pro is bigger but it isn't far bigger than the M1.
When the M1 MBP 13" launched there was no M1 Pro option to use at all. Apple also didn't really know what the demand for M1's was going to be. They probably expected "high" but decent chance that their projections were wrong. MBA 13" gave them an out to soak up as many M1's as they needed to if they got the forecast significantly wrong on the "high" side. If too low... just customers waiting in line longer. There was no downside not to ship with an M1.
If Apple has a tall stack of M2's lying around and not other systems to soak them up then a "MacBook" 13 could do that job relatively easily. About the same thing though for the M1 Pro. If folks are not buying the very low end M1 Pro in the projected numbers then then it could be adjusted to soak those up and keep the MacBook Pro name. Both are really stop gaps for a case/chassis they already have. At some point in 2023-24 they probably should new a case update that is more purposefully designed for one or the other (e.g., M3 or M3 Pro).