Dan Ackerman/CNET
Given that the MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16 received updates in late-ish 2021 — and the 14-inch arrived as a new product — it makes sense that the rumors are most swirly around a 13-inch entry-level model, potentially using a new chip in Apple’s M line of processors. Also, because we’ve started to hear rumors about Apple’s first event of 2022, currently pegged at some time in March, the 2022 rumor mill for everything Apple has begun and will continue to grind continuously through the last event (usually in October).
When will new MacBook Pros be announced?
Apple’s early event, which took place in April for 2021, traditionally focuses on iPads and more entry-level (or education related) products, which means a revamped MacBook Air or MacBook Pro 13 might be in the cards.
But the closest thing we have to a launch whisper is Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman (as reported by 9to5Mac based on Gurman’s subscription newsletter) stating that the MacBook Pro may be one of four Macs to get an upgrade in 2022 and that one of first of the 2022 MacBook Pro models may be a 14-inch with a lower end M2 chip but lack the ProMotion and mini LED screen of the other models, with lesser storage options. (Digitimes also says a new low-end model will be coming at the event, but it has a mixed accuracy record, and Twitter leaker @dylantk’s account has disappeared since it initially posted some related rumors.)
An M2 chip?
An “M2” is being bandied about as an update to Apple’s first-gen M1 entry-level version, although we’ve heard no details beyond that. AppleTrack and others have said that the aforementioned specs would take away everything that makes a MacBook Pro a “pro” model, especially in light of speculation about a revamped Air, but I disagree. If the rumored M2 chip has specs somewhere between the M1 and M1 Max, say 8 cores (with 6 or 8 P cores), support for 32GB RAM, 14 GPU cores and no ProRes accelerator, it could serve quite well as a less expensive Pro for low-end content creation, such as most photo editing. Not everyone is editing video. And that still leaves room for a light, less powerful Air.
Stay tuned for more as the news trickles in.
