Apple Could Debut M2 MacBook Pro 14 And 16 Very Soon

Apple is reportedly planning to launch refreshed versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models as early as the Fall season this year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As expected, a key upgrade would be an M2-series chip, taking over the reins from the M1 Pro and M1 Max processors inside the current-gen MacBook Pro models.

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter (via 9to5Mac), Gurman notes that the internal target is to launch the MacBook Pro refresh later this year. However, the unveiling could also slip into the Spring season of 2023. Notably, citing the current state of the global supply chain, Gurman adds that "it's hard to predict exactly when these will hit store shelves."

The upgrades will allegedly be limited to the innards, especially the chip, but the design will more or less remain identical. Apple is known to use the same core design for at least two to three generations of a product line, a trend that is more pronounced for Mac hardware compared to its smartphones. Apple made some notable changes with the current-gen 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models such as bringing back the MagSafe charging system, adding an SD card slot, narrowing the bezel around the screen (save a camera and sensor notch), and giving a design makeover to the keyboard. Given the magnitude of hardware-side tweaks, these changes will carry over to the next generation, at the very least.

These upcoming machines are tipped to be armed with successors to the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips and tentatively called the M2 Pro and M2 Max. Gurman has previously speculated Apple also has M2 Ultra and M2 Extreme variants lined up for Mac hardware in the coming quarters.

For the M2 Pro and M2 Max, Gurman notes that the focus will be on an upgrade in the graphics performance. With the vanilla M2 chip that Apple has fitted inside the updated 2022 MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro refresh, Apple bumped the processing power by arming it with 10 CPU cores, up from the eight CPU cores on the M1 chip.

Whether Apple will increase the CPU core count for the M2 Pro and M2 Max remains to be seen. But there is some precedent for that happening, at least for the M2 Max trim. While the M1 Pro arrived in variants with 8-core and 10-core CPUs, the M1 Max was available solely in 10-core CPU configurations. 

Assuming Apple takes the same route, M2 Pro and M2 Max could very well jump to versions with 12 CPU cores, or more. On the graphics side of things, the M2 Pro and M2 Max could build up by adding more cores to the mix, beefing up the GPU core numbers available on the M1 Pro with 14 and 16 graphics cores and M1 Max with 24 and 32 graphics cores.