[Rumour] M2 chip exclusive to Mac Pro and iMac coming in the 2nd half of 2021

[the8thark]

Here's the rumour link

Apple's 'M2' Chip Exclusive to Mac Pro and iMac, Lauching in H2 2021

Apple debuted its M1 chip with the Mac mini, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air. The M1 chip packs an 8-core CPU which while powerful still falls short of beating high-end Intel CPUs with 10-28-cores in multi-threaded scenarios. A new leak from a tipster on Weibo claims that Apple will be...

www.iphonehacks.com

Not the most credible source out there but it does line up. M2 as a name is not finalised as allegedly the chip is internally being called Jade.
What do you think about the rumour? Do you believe it and if so will you be saving now for an iMac and/or Mac Pro in 2021?

 

[tdar]

I have been predicting that both the new 30” iMac and the Mac Pro will be announced at WWDC. These macs will require Mac OS 12, which will also be announced there. Shipments start in September when the OS is available.

 

[dnewkirk]

I would like to see then double the Fast CPU cores and GPU cores. That should enable them to beat the current crop of processors for all other products minus the Mac Pro. For GPU especially, if the M1 GPU is ~5500xt performance, then double that should be ~5700xt performance. Given that M1 performs at the level of the desktop cards, then the graphics at the high end should also still see an increase in performance relative to the current crop of Discrete GPUs in their other products. It also means less differentiation, at least currently, with better GPUs at the current price points, so that the high end GPU upgrade no longer exists-you get the upgrade for free essentially. Add in double of the TB lanes, etc. and they will have a product with features that match or exceed most other products. In the case of the Mac Pro, they would have to triple or more the CPU cores to get even close to the performance of the high end processor, but that’s a halo product, so probably the last to get updated...

 

[CheesePuff]

I have been predicting that both the new 30” iMac and the Mac Pro will be announced at WWDC. These macs will require Mac OS 12, which will also be announced there. Shipments start in September when the OS is available.

Why would they require a new major macOS release? The only reason the M1 Macs did was because macOS 11 needed to be compiled for ARM instead of x86

 

[tdar]

Why would they require a new major macOS release? The only reason the M1 Macs did was because macOS 11 needed to be compiled for ARM instead of x86

There is support code in macOS for each Mac. Also I’m expecting the Mac Pro to offer expansion in a way that we have never seen before. Co processor cards.

 

[leman]

The "M2" will almost certainly be based on the A15 iteration, mostly likely with a redesigned CPU (SVE2, other pro-features) and an improved GPU (hardware raytracing, etc.). I doubt that this tech won't make it into laptops. There will be different sizes of chips, for different machines.

 

[pshufd]

I have a 2010 iMac that died in 2015 with a bad video card and I am going to hook it up to another Mac via Firewire to erase the disk and then bring it to the Apple Store for recycling. I will never buy another iMac - I really hate the concept of an all-in-one. If one critical component fails and Apple won't or can't fix it, then you have an expensive brick.

The M2 (8 performance and 4 efficiency) does not sound appealing to me in a Mac Pro though I do not need GPU compute power unless they drop the price considerably. I could just get 2 M1 Minis and connect them together via Synergy to get equivalent CPU power and 32 GB of RAM.

But it is exciting to see what they are likely working on.

 

[pshufd]

The "M2" will almost certainly be based on the A15 iteration, mostly likely with a redesigned CPU (SVE2, other pro-features) and an improved GPU (hardware raytracing, etc.). I doubt that this tech won't make it into laptops. There will be different sizes of chips, for different machines.

I do not see how Intel and AMD can keep up with a pace of yearly chip updates at significant rates of improvement that Apple will be doing, as demonstrated by their mobile lineage.

 

[CheesePuff]

There is support code in macOS for each Mac. Also I’m expecting the Mac Pro to offer expansion in a way that we have never seen before. Co processor cards.

I highly doubt they would announce a new "consumer" Mac (the 30" iMac) with a 4 month lead time before its released, they would just release a .1 update to include the new drivers

 

[bobmans]

“Jade” is not the M2, it’s an AS dGPU (dGPU alternative) for high-end machines.
So this whole article is based on the misinterpretation of the Jade codename with the M2 instead of with a dGPU.

 

[pshufd]

“Jade” is not the M2, it’s an AS dGPU (dGPU alternative) for high-end machines.
So this whole article is based on the misinterpretation of the Jade codename with the M2 instead of with a dGPU.

So there is a dGPU and a new CPU - both are exciting. We'll see what they come up with. In the meantime, I'm looking harder at an M1 Mini.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

Apple M1:
MacBook Air
MacBook
Mac mini

Apple M2:
14" MacBook Pro
24" iMac
30" iMac

Apple M3:
16" MacBook Pro
Mac Pro mini
Mac Pro
👍

 

[pshufd]

Apple M1:
MacBook Air
MacBook
Mac mini

Apple M2:
14" MacBook Pro
24" iMac
30" iMac

Apple M3:
16" MacBook Pro
Mac Pro mini
Mac Pro
👍

It would be cool if the M3 is more powerful than the M2.

 

[Mr. Awesome]

Apple M1:
MacBook Air
MacBook
Mac mini

Apple M2:
14" MacBook Pro
24" iMac
30" iMac

Apple M3:
16" MacBook Pro
Mac Pro mini
Mac Pro
👍

My thought is this:
Apple M1, M2, etc.:
MacBook Air
Mac mini

Apple M1X, M2X, etc.:
14" MacBook Pro
24" iMac
30" iMac
16” MacBook Pro

Apple M1Z, M2Z, etc.:
Mac Pro mini
Mac Pro

 

[velocityg4]

I have a 2010 iMac that died in 2015 with a bad video card and I am going to hook it up to another Mac via Firewire to erase the disk and then bring it to the Apple Store for recycling. I will never buy another iMac - I really hate the concept of an all-in-one. If one critical component fails and Apple won't or can't fix it, then you have an expensive brick.

The M2 (8 performance and 4 efficiency) does not sound appealing to me in a Mac Pro though I do not need GPU compute power unless they drop the price considerably. I could just get 2 M1 Minis and connect them together via Synergy to get equivalent CPU power and 32 GB of RAM.

But it is exciting to see what they are likely working on.

Slap it on eBay for parts or repair only, not used. Just describe it as not working and you don't know whats wrong. Better than being specific and someone buying it expecting something to work. You'll probably get $50 to $100, which is better than nothing, and someone will have parts to repair their computer. Reuse is better than recycling.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

These macs will require Mac OS 12, which will also be announced there.

I think you mean 11.1. The increment to v11 was due to the hugely significant shift in architecture.

 

[pshufd]

Slap it on eBay for parts or repair only, not used. Just describe it as not working and you don't know whats wrong. Better than being specific and someone buying it expecting something to work. You'll probably get $50 to $100, which is better than nothing, and someone will have parts to repair their computer. Reuse is better than recycling.

It's not worth $100 for me to put it up for sale, negotiate, package it up and drive it to the shipping company. I imagine Apple sells it to a recycler and that they will use the parts or sell it if they can.

 

[NJRonbo]

I have a 16GB Mini on order. My first.

However, I don't want to get burned. Do you think we'll see a Pro Mini in the next few months?

 

[pshufd]

I have a 16GB Mini on order. My first.

However, I don't want to get burned. Do you think we'll see a Pro Mini in the next few months?

I don't but congrats on the new machine.

 

[velocityg4]

It's not worth $100 for me to put it up for sale, negotiate, package it up and drive it to the shipping company. I imagine Apple sells it to a recycler and that they will use the parts or sell it if they can.

In that case. On a sunny day. Just put it by the curb with a sign that says free. It'll probably be gone in a couple hours. Even easier than the Apple Store.

Whatever you do. Securely wipe it first if you care about your data. I've gotten a lot of used equipment from recyclers. Most don't wipe anything. Phones are usually safe as they need to reset them to make sure they are sellable. Also remove it from iCloud as it'll be no good to anyone elsewise.

 

[pshufd]

In that case. On a sunny day. Just put it by the curb with a sign that says free. It'll probably be gone in a couple hours. Even easier than the Apple Store.

Whatever you do. Securely wipe it first if you care about your data. I've gotten a lot of used equipment from recyclers. Most don't wipe anything. Phones are usually safe as they need to reset them to make sure they are sellable. Also remove it from iCloud as it'll be no good to anyone elsewise.

Yes, I have a working 2007 MacBook Pro and I'm going to attach a Firewire cable to do a remote wipe.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Also I’m expecting the Mac Pro to offer expansion in a way that we have never seen before. Co processor cards.

They are already doing this with Afterburner.

 

[Jorbanead]

Apple M1:
MacBook Air
MacBook
Mac mini

Apple M2:
14" MacBook Pro
24" iMac
30" iMac

Apple M3:
16" MacBook Pro
Mac Pro mini
Mac Pro
👍

I believe the number will correspond to the new chip fabrication process just how they do it with the A-series.

M1 = 5nm process (2020)
M2 = 5nm+ process (2021)
M3 = 3nm process (2022)
M4 = 3nm+ process (2023)

So all the Mac chips coming out until the new 5nm+ process later next year will all use the M1 name with additional letters to denote additional core count and other features. So we’ll likely see something more like this:

M1 = MBA, MBP 13” 2-port, Mm 2-port
8-core CPU

M1X = MBP 13” 4-port, Mm 4-port, MBP 16”, iMac 24”
12-core CPU

M1Z = iMac 30”, Mac Pro mini
18-core CPU

M1Pro = iMac Pro, Mac Pro
32-core CPU

 

[Mr. Awesome]

I think you mean 11.1. The increment to v11 was due to the hugely significant shift in architecture.

I would personally love it if Apple shifted to using whole number increments for annual macOS updates, just like iOS and watchOS.

 

[Mr.Blacky]

I believe the number will correspond to the new chip fabrication process just how they do it with the A-series.

M1 = 5nm process (2020)
M2 = 5nm+ process (2021)
M3 = 3nm process (2022)
M4 = 3nm+ process (2023)

So all the Mac chips coming out until the new 5nm+ process later next year will all use the M1 name with additional letters to denote additional core count and other features. So we’ll likely see something more like this:

M1 = MBA, MBP 13” 2-port, Mm 2-port
8-core CPU

M1X = MBP 13” 4-port, Mm 4-port, MBP 16”, iMac 24”
12-core CPU

M1Z = iMac 30”, Mac Pro mini
18-core CPU

M1Pro = iMac Pro, Mac Pro
32-core CPU

I don't believe there will be an iMac Pro (or entry-level iMac) anymore.