I’m thinking number 2 as June or July sounds too early but they’ve refreshed in June or July before so I’m not sure.
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Waiting for 2021 MBP
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As far as I’m aware, ARM9 is only really an extension to ARM8, it has more optional aspects of ARM8 built into ARM9. I don’t think you’ll see such a significant benefit and if there is, Apple would extend that benefit over the course of several years, instead of just one large increase.
Edit - I mean look at the previous transition from ARM7 to ARM8, and, Apple may not even release an ARM9 for the next MacBooks as it was only announce recently (yes Apple would have likely known before hand but the CPU would have been designed far in the past).
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It might be that a different version of the chip is going in to the iMac due to the different thermal envelope they have to work with in that one due to the space and no need to worry about performance on battery.
It would make sense to me if there was a 24" iMac ready to go (as has been rumoured for ages now) next week with the MacBook Pros later in the year along with the Pro machines - Mac Pro, Mac mini, big/pro iMac.
I'm curious how much faster M2 will be vs M1x. It would be pretty cool if they actually managed to move the new macbook cpu to a smaller 4nm node/etc.
Now that’s an interesting question... Right now the general assumption is that the M chips will follow the same numbering pattern as the A chips. If that assumption is correct then for this first generation we will see something like:
Base M1: Air, Mac Mini and base 13” (with better GPU version on 13” Pro). Possible for base 24” iMac?
M1-X: Assumed to be for the 14”, 16”, 24” iMac, 27” iMac (with a version with better GPU and maybe more CPU cores for the 16” and 27” iMac).
M1-Pro?: For new Mac Pro and possibly a lower spec version for the rumored 32” iMac Pro.
If that assumption is correct then the M2 will just be a replacement for the M1 and will be targeted towards Apples lower end Macs. Then we will get an M2-X and M2-Pro for the higher end machines.
If we use the iPad Pro as an example of what an “X” chip would bring then things are looking good! Benchmarks have shown that the 2018 iPad Pro A-12X can actually edge out the new A-14 in multi-core and can still reasonably keep up in graphics and single core. If we apply that logic to the M1X then we can assume that the M2 will have better single core performance by 10-25% but the M1X will still pull ahead in terms of multi core and especially graphics.
Of course that whole essay was all based on assumption so time will tell but so far it’s looking like the new 14” and 16” may be the kings of multi core laptop performance for some time.
Single core, probably c. 15-20% in line with recent iPhone/ iPad increments. That won’t be enough to push it past in multi core, assuming the M1X is a 6+4 core (or greater) design. The next gen (A15/M2) will be on TSMC’s 5nm+. 4nm will be for the A16/M3 later on 2022, even if TSMC get it up and running ahead of schedule later this year (as rumoured) I expect the designs are already largely locked in.
I do not really know. I am sceptical about it.
Needless to say that evolution will go on and on forever,
but I am not sure how much of a big leap this would be, in real world computing terms.
As I said, I keep my machines for almost a decade,
so it is reasonable to consider what is best to do, from that regard.
Fair enough, I don’t think you can really lose so to speak now. Of course it’s up to you, but you’ll likely want something from the 2022 MacBook, then the 2023 MacBook, etc. Perhaps the 2023 MacBook comes with FaceID, 32 cores, MicroLED, etc.
The great thing about the initial entry-level machines is just how fast & capable they are. If you don't need the powerful GPU, 4 ports etc, I don't think you can lose by picking up an M1 Air or Pro if you need one now. They probably won't lose a massive amount of money either if you do decide to upgrade towards the end of this year or next year.
I'm also interested to see what features like FaceID make it, or not, to the first gen of the more powerful laptops.
Apple Developing 32-Core ARM CPUs and 128-Core GPUs to Replace AMD Graphics, Report
The ARM revolution continues
Judging by what Apple has done with the MacBook Air, base 13” Pro and Mac Mini, the prices seem to be staying the same as the outgoing models. So if we assume that trend continues the base 14” should be $1799 and the base 16” should be $2399. The fact that Apple kept the 16” price the same when they moved it up from 15” adds some credibility but at the same time who knows...?
One thing I am very curious to see is what will separate the 14” from the 16” other than the screen size and battery. Rumors point to both the 14” and 16” getting the M1-X however in the past the larger MacBook Pro has always set itself apart by the inclusion of a discrete graphics card.
If I had to guess I’d say the 14” will get a 12 core M1-X with 16 GPU cores (putting it roughly in the ballpark of the current base model 16” for graphics performance) and the 16” will get the same 12 core M1-X (maybe with higher boost speed) and either more GPU cores or the same 16 cores with the addition of an Apple in house discrete GPU. What do you all think?
Yes, since the high end MacBook 13 Pro is still using Intel CPUs. The price will likely stay the same as it is now.
The current M1 model (£1,299 or £1,499) likely won’t get a design change. Even a chip bump to an M2 isn’t guaranteed. The £1,799 model will likely become the new 14”, and assuming the USD price stays the same the stronger £ might mean it will start at a slightly reduced £1,599-1,699 though.
So you don’t think the prices will go back closer to the prices of what they were for the retina models, before the touchbar? Well... Ouch.
Not sure what they were for the retina vs touchbar but I remember that in my currency the prices of the unibody 15” base model being about $1300 lower back then than they are for the base 16” today.
Just realized if prices go up about $300 more they would have doubled in ten years in my country.
I understand a lot of it is Apples way of converting my country’s currency which value have fallen a bit but not that much I believe, since other stuff hasn’t become expensive to import (more like € 2500 of value now costs € 100-120 more max).
Of course the touchbar might stay but if it goes I’m hoping we’ll see some drop in price unless we get something that is useful and worth it of course.
Not sure what they were for the retina vs touchbar but I remember that in my currency the prices of the unibody 15” base model being about $1300 lower back then than they are for the base 16” today.
Just realized if prices go up about $300 more they would have doubled in ten years in my country.
I understand a lot of it is Apples way of converting my country’s currency which value have fallen a bit but not that much I believe, since other stuff hasn’t become expensive to import (more like € 2500 of value now costs € 100-120 more max).
Of course the touchbar might stay but if it goes I’m hoping we’ll see some drop in price unless we get something that is useful and worth it of course.
I think there's essentially no chance the MBP pricing reverts to pre-touchbar levels. I think the best we can hope for is pricing to stay the same as what it is today (in the US, in USD). As others have mentioned, with chip shortages worldwide, I think it's possible they increase the prices (though hopefully this is less likely than likely), so keeping prices the same in my view is a "win".
For non-US countries, I do empathize with increased costs due to FX. I'm in Canada, and C$ prices are consistently "higher" than what the true FX-converted USD price would be. Basically, Apple gives themselves additional wiggle-room so that when they convert to USD, they come out ahead. Maybe to account for additional export costs / import duties. Maybe to account for FX rate volatility. Maybe just because they can.
You’re probably right, I’m just hoping... the cheapest MBP16” costs slightly over $3500 here (taxes included) and I just think it’s crazy for a computer but at the same time it’s a tough decision to make to go PC but I might have to for a desktop and then get the cheapest M1 if I need a new laptop and my MBP15” 2015 and 2012 stops working (mainly used for music production and 3D modeling and secondarily used for some office work and web browsing).
Anyway excited to see what’s coming and hopefully there’s something suitable!
We’ll see tomorrow what Apple is doing with MiniLED and can use that as a baseline for the MacBooks.
Yeah good point! I think if the iMac does come tomorrow it could give us a lot of clues about the new MacBook Pros.
- M1-X features and power (unless they just put an M1 in)
- Rounded screen edges or traditional straight edges
- We will also see officially how Apple adapts the iPad Pro design language to their Mac lineup
The new iMac is a "fun" product for the average consumer (and I don't mean that in any arrogant way). This tells me that WWDC should bring an iMac Pro, 14" MacBook Pro and 16" MacBook Pro with the M1-X. The new iMac does give us some clues such as:
- Glimpse at what the new MagSafe adapter "could" look like.
- Seems like we on't get rounded screen corners (not a big deal for me but would have been cool).
- If the iMac Pro does use the same chassis, we can loosely assume the M1-X will have the GPU integrated rather than a discrete chip. 14" MacBook Pro ay get 14 core GPU and 16" and iMac Pro gets 16 core.
- Better webcam (finally)
- Could it be possible that the new MacBook Pros come in more colors than just silver and grey? I don't think we will get the same rainbow hues as the iMac but we could get iPhone Pro colors.
- Announcement and ship times will be a larger gap than usual. If announced at WWDC, we won't actually get them until late June or July (which was expected considering the chip shortage).
I highly doubt Apple will leave their iMac lineup only half upgraded which gives more hope to new hardware at WWDC.
- Glimpse at what the new MagSafe adapter "could" look like.
- Seems like we on't get rounded screen corners (not a big deal for me but would have been cool).
- If the iMac Pro does use the same chassis, we can loosely assume the M1-X will have the GPU integrated rather than a discrete chip. 14" MacBook Pro ay get 14 core GPU and 16" and iMac Pro gets 16 core.
- Better webcam (finally)
- Could it be possible that the new MacBook Pros come in more colors than just silver and grey? I don't think we will get the same rainbow hues as the iMac but we could get iPhone Pro colors.
- Announcement and ship times will be a larger gap than usual. If announced at WWDC, we won't actually get them until late June or July (which was expected considering the chip shortage).
I highly doubt Apple will leave their iMac lineup only half upgraded which gives more hope to new hardware at WWDC.