The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with Apple’s M1 Pro and M1 Max chips didn’t arrive until October 2021, but the successor may not be that far off. Despite there being an 18-month wait between the arrival of the M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro and their M2 replacements, the M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBook Pro models are expected to arrive this fall. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming release.
Table of Contents
2022 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro: release date
A fall forecast for the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro came via a July 2022 Bloomberg Power On newsletter from Mark Gurman, in which he indicated that Apple is already preparing for the next round of Apple silicon updates. Gurman wrote that the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro will receive M2 Pro and M2 Max chip upgrades by the end of this year, though he warns that the update could be delayed until early 2023 due to “ongoing supply chain challenges.”
A fall release would take place at Apple’s annual Mac event in October or November.
2022 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro: price
Current models are priced as follows. While there are some big price jumps between the 8-core and 10-core CPU modes that many hope Apple will close, we don’t expect any major changes – although we could see some price increases in line with inflation in some parts of the world. . Apple increased the price of the entry-level MacBook Air by $200 or 20 percent with the redesign of the M2.
- 14-inch MacBook Pro, M1 Pro, 8-core CPU, 14-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, $1,999/£1,899
- 14-inch MacBook Pro, M1 Pro, 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 1TB SSD, $2,499 / £2,399
- 16-inch MacBook Pro, M1 Pro, 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 512GB SSD, $2,499 / £2,399
- 16-inch MacBook Pro, M1 Pro, 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB unified memory, 1TB SSD, $2,699 / $2,599
- 16-inch MacBook Pro, M1 Max, 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 32GB unified memory, 1TB SSD, $3,499 / £3,299
2022 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro: Design
If you were hoping that Apple would change the design of these two larger MacBook Pro models, be prepared to be disappointed. The company has made some massive changes in 2021, with the new 14- and 16-inch screens and their ProMotion technology, along with the removal of the Touch Bar and the addition of the notch (all of which serve to differentiate itself from the 13-inch MacBook Pro). Gurman has indicated that the MacBook Pro is expected to “stay roughly the same” on the outside.
Foundry
2022 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro: Specifications
While the outside of the MacBook Pro will look the same, the inside will be different. Gurman reports that his sources indicate that the M2 Max will have 12 CPU cores and up to 38 GPU cores, six more than the M1 Max.
As with the M2 chip, the M2 Pro and M2 Max will focus “on the graphics side,” according to Gurman. In the case of the M2 in the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, Apple delivered a graphics boost from 8 to 10 cores. For the M2 Pro and M2 Max, this could lead to a shift from 14 cores and 16 cores to 18 cores and 20 cores for the M2 Pro and 24 cores and 32 cores to 30 cores and 38 cores for the M2 Max.
As for the CPU cores, there are suggestions that there will be a boost here as well, despite the M2 having an 8-core CPU like the M1. There are rumors that Apple will offer a 12-core CPU for the M2 Pro and M2 Max.
However, two extra cores are not the only change that a faster CPU could mean. There were suggestions that Apple might start using the new 3nm process for the M3 chips when they arrive, probably in 2023, but some reports suggested that this new process could be used for the M2 Pro and other variants.
The 3nm process should, among other things, enable an even higher transistor density. According to DigiTimes in June 2022, Apple has “booked TSMC capacity for the upcoming 3nm M3 and M2 Pro processors” and TSMC will begin volume production of 3nm chips in the second half of 2022.
YouTube channel Max Tech’s Vadim Yuryev also hinted that the M2 Pro will be 3nm.
If the M2 Pro, Max and Ultra chips are built using this 3nm process, the gap between the M2 and these other variants will be wider than ever and the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Studio, high-end Mac mini, and Mac Pro could offer even greater speed boosts than those with the M2 compared to the M1.
If Apple adopts this new process for the M2 Pro and beyond, it’s unlikely to arrive before spring 2023. However, Gurman thinks we’ll have to wait until late 2023 or 2024 to see the 3nm process with the M3 chips coming.
