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Expected release of MacBook Pro 14" with M2 Pro processor
- Thread starter kpcboopathi
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It's annoying that rumors aren't 100% accurate and Apple doesn't tell you trade secrets? Apple is a business and like pretty much any company in this space, they don't and have never wanted you to be able to accurately predict what is getting upgraded and when. They want to be able to sell their flagship model as a flagship as long as they can rather than tell you the secrets that will cause you (and the rest of the computing industry) to leave thousands of units unsold. If Apple had just come out at WWDC and said "and keep an eye out for M2 Pro/Max/Ultra in January!" it'd disrupt their whole supply chain for the rest of the year as every news outlet on the planet headlines "DON'T BUY THE MACBOOK PRO, APPLE SLATED TO UPGRADE" and causes nobody to buy it. Tech 101.
It may not be ideal but you're never going to get a roadmap from Apple, and the best you can do is be a smart consumer and look at the information you gather from rumors, forums, etc and make an educated guess as to when is the best time to purchase.
Common sense dictates that the M1 Pro/M1 Max/M1 Ultra are still fresh in the market and are leaders in the industry, *and* supply has yet to even be caught up with demand. To expect an M2 Pro/Max/Ultra to burst onto the market this year is crazy IMO. The regular M1 has been out two years now and of course it makes sense to begin rolling out low power notebooks with a new chip. And from what they released, it's pretty likely that M2 Pro/Max/Ultra will be more than simply an M2 with some more GPU cores slapped on, likely a new process node or something.
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You already know that a year is a good measure to the next iteration of the CPU. So use that and assume march 2023. It's not hard to deduce that or simply assume that Apple may reward early in Oct.
Apple has just started the second processor generation during a chip shortage; how could the roadmap be clear?
But computers aren't like phones, they wont be updated every year. Just assume 18-24 moths between computer upgrades, and buy accordingly.
What about iPhone upgrade, Apple's biggest cash cow? Why was Apple working hard to meet the release dead line in pandemic situation also? With this, I know a trade secret about Apple
It releases new iPhone every year in Sep, so, folks can plan on buying it in advance.Wish Apple had a road map once the chip shortage is over. Updating every 24 months is also not a problem if we know the next model wont come immediately after the purchase (Remember iPad 3 !!!). Tick–tock kind of development with Normal M and Pro M chips should help both. This will also pressure Apple to give some nominal, meaningful update to its Mac lineup. Otherwise we will see 3-4 years old models selling in original price (Like Mac mini 2014)
Normal customers do not bother about the Pro chips & Pro features. They buy the latest & cheapest when they are available. Macbook Air is the highest selling Macbook lineup for Apple because of the low entry price. A clear road map will not cause any issue to the supply chain of $2000+ pro devices
I would have liked to see the 14 and 16” MBP’s get the base M2 as an entry level option now at a slightly lower cost than the M1 Pro/Max versions (Maybe £100-150 cheaper). So have M2 at entry level, M1 Pro at mid range and M1 Max at the top tier in terms of pricing.
Yes, it absolutely will - otherwise, we'd have one. I bet we won't see this out of Apple as long as we live, it goes against the very core of how Apple operates and has always operated.
Yes. M2 in 14 inch form would be a great option for many people. It ticks all
1) Fan
2) More Battery life (20h vs 11h)
3) Decent RAM (16 GB)
4) Decent Storage (512 GB).
5) Lower Price than Pro chips
6) Updated design with more ports
All current Models do miss at least 2 of them. Air lacks Fan with increased price (Still a better option for many normal users), MacBook Pro (M2) lacks new design, Less RAM & Storage for a so called a Pro device (unchanged for a decade
), M1 Pro lacks Battery and Higher price point. But apple's profit margin will get a big hit given it's insane upgrade costs for RAM & Storage. This is the reason Apple did not update MBP 13 with new design and try to capitalize
Yes. M2 in 14 inch form would be a great option for many people. It ticks all
1) Fan
2) More Battery life (20h vs 11h)
3) Decent RAM (16 GB)
4) Decent Storage (512 GB).
5) Lower Price than Pro chips
6) Updated design with more ports
All current Models do miss at least 2 of them. Air lacks Fan with increased price (Still a better option for many normal users), MacBook Pro (M2) lacks new design, Less RAM & Storage for a so called a Pro device (unchanged for a decade
That's still a big improvement compared to 2018 Apple.
Back then, you had to choose between having either a reliable keyboard (Air 2017), decent display (Air Retina) or a proper cooling system (Pro 13").
Now at least we now we made some progress.
I also would have liked an M2 option in the 14" macbook pro. But honestly it probably only would have been like $100 savings.Yes. M2 in 14 inch form would be a great option for many people. It ticks all
1) Fan
2) More Battery life (20h vs 11h)
3) Decent RAM (16 GB)
4) Decent Storage (512 GB).
5) Lower Price than Pro chips
6) Updated design with more ports
All current Models do miss at least 2 of them. Air lacks Fan with increased price (Still a better option for many normal users), MacBook Pro (M2) lacks new design, Less RAM & Storage for a so called a Pro device (unchanged for a decade
But apple's profit margin will get a big hit given it's insane upgrade costs for RAM & Storage. This is the reason Apple did not update MBP 13 with new design and try to capitalize
The battery is more like 12.5 (14" mbp) vs 17 hours (13" m2 mbp) though according to engadgets benchmarks. The M1 MBP and M1 Air both lasted about 16.5 hours so I'd expect the M2 Air and MBP to be the same again at about 17 hours.
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An M2 on the battery of the 14" would probably last longer than what the M1 Pro lasts.
Update: Ordered 14" M1 Pro MBP in sale for $1600. No November release, Apple's new trend of increasing price of newer model and No hope of 3 NM node pushed me to use the deal.
I believe the 3nm chips will be branded M3 so it's possible there will not be an M2-Pro/Max/Ultra anything.
That's a great computer for a great price and it should last you many years.
Yes, it should last. Only unknown is Apple's MacOS support plan. Hardware should be fine for ~10 years even for heavy use.
That is not likely or at least a conjecture. Remember that this will be a pro chip that takes up more power. More RAM also takes up more power.
I traded in my 14 M1 MAX for a PRO processor and less GPU. The battery is much better on this machine. But the air M2 is a lesser chip that takes up less power and will not be available on the pro models.
Of course, if they can go 3 mm on the new pro chips, then who knows, but I suspect the air equivalents will always have a battery advantage.
Excellent deal for very good machine.
I tested out one in august but returned hoping to see either Stage Manager miracles or M2 Macbook Pro's this autumn.
As you know it, none of that turned out to be real, aside from delayed release of Stage Manager which doesnt cut it for me to use my iPad as laptop replacement.
I would get M1 Pro MBP 14 right away, if it wasnt for 30-45 days wait time for base config and me travelling soon for few months.
Not from US, hence different situation where I'm located, also we don't have Apple stores here.
- 2023, my guess is early spring, i.e., March or April.
- I think everyone is pretty much in agreement that it will be 5mn and the performance improvement will be rather minor overall
- Future proofing is a marketing mechanism to get consumers to over buy and spend more money
I have ordered M1 Pro as M2 Pro may be an incremental update. In terms of future proof, it works if we calculate/predict based on some items. Like I said earlier, A9 was advanced than A8, received few more years of update, and some features like ARKit. Same with M1 vs A12Z. Also A12 vs A11. At some point, processors tend to have some major improvements than current one and receive longer updates and be a minimum requirement for certain features. So, based on rumors, if you expect such an update in 6 to 9 months and if you can wait, its better to wait and purchase. It will give more usable life.
So, finally Apple announced M2 Pro MBP. As expected, its a minor update with same 5nm node. So, no regret on buying M1 Pro MBP in offer price . M3 Pro will be a bigger upgrade with 3nm node. Now hoping Apple may drop support of M1 Pro along with M2 Pro in future. One surprise is Apple increased the price only 2.5% in India. I expected 10 to 20% increase as per iPad's increment. Also, a rare decrease in price of M2 Mac Mini is a good sign of Apple understanding the reality .
. M3 Pro will be a bigger upgrade with 3nm node. Now hoping Apple may drop support of M1 Pro along with M2 Pro in future. One surprise is Apple increased the price only 2.5% in India. I expected 10 to 20% increase as per iPad's increment. Also, a rare decrease in price of M2 Mac Mini is a good sign of Apple understanding the reality .