Apple is readying its next fleet of laptops and desktops

According to a new Bloomberg report , Apple is preparing its next batch of laptops and desktops as it moves into the second phase of Mac devices powered by bespoke silicon.

According to developer logs found by Bloomberg and “confirmed by people familiar with the matter,” Apple is purportedly prepping next-generation M2 chips and testing at least nine Macs with four distinct versions of the CPU with third-party programs in the App Store. At this point in the development process, the following systems are expected to be released in the coming months.

Bloomberg’s data offers us a sense of which M2-powered devices we may expect throughout the year; the MacBook Air, Mac mini, entry-level MacBook Pro, MacBook Pro 14, MacBook Pro 16, and Mac Pro are all presently being tested. According to reports, Apple is working on a Mac mini with an M1 Pro CPU, which would bridge the gap between the current mini and the recently introduced Mac Studio.

Looking at each of these gadgets more closely, the long-awaited MacBook Air, which will replace the present M1-powered laptop, will be outfitted with an M2 processor with 8 CPU and 10 GPU cores. The MacBook Pro and the Mac mini, Apple’s entry-level desktop, will use the same CPU.

The MacBook Pro 14 and Pro 16 will be available with M2 Pro or M2 Max CPUs, similar to the current M1 configurations. These notebooks’ processors will reportedly include 12 CPU cores and 38 graphics cores, compared to 10 CPU cores and 32 GPU cores in current versions. Memory support will be doubled in the second-generation CPUs, from 32GB to 64GB. While we’re on the subject of memory, there’s no news yet on whether the MacBook Air, like other of its ultra-thin Windows competitors, will handle 32GB of RAM.

The MacBook Air, entry-level MacBook Pro, and Mac mini are all expected to ship later this year, according to Bloomberg, with two systems set to launch “around the middle of the year.” We’ve been following MacBook Air rumors for a while now, and we’re anticipating a major redesign for the next model, which will allegedly have a new design and new color options.

Apple’s planned M2 chips will replace the company’s current M1 processors, which were the company’s first attempt at developing its own Mac CPUs. The first chips have received widespread acclaim for their industry-leading power and efficiency, a one-two punch that has significantly changed Apple’s sluggish MacBook options and revitalized its efforts in the field.

It’s unusual for us to obtain such a large amount of information on new Apple goods, especially when there’s tangible evidence to back it up. We haven’t independently validated the allegations, but in the past, developer logs from third-party apps have shown to be reliable predictors of upcoming hardware.

However, the majority of the information exposed in this dump is quite foreseeable. Apple appears to be following the same pattern as last year, introducing four distinct CPUs, the M2, M2 Pro, M2 Max, and M2 Ultra, and just replacing the old with the new. A Mac mini with a more powerful M2 Pro CPU, which would satisfy buyers who don’t want to spend two grand on a standard Mac Studio, could break this pattern.

Not to mention the Mac Pro, a powerful $6,000+ desktop that, for some reason, still runs on Intel chips. Updates to these two desktops would be noteworthy for another reason: without the 27-inch iMac, Apple’s journey away from Intel would be complete with an M-powered Mac Pro and high-end Mac mini.