Apple is extensively anticipated to unveil a brand new Mac subsequent month, however with the high-end Mac mini, the 27-inch iMac, and the Mac Professional all nonetheless that includes Intel chips and Apple’s M1 machines from 2020 now reaching virtually 15 months in age, it’s not instantly clear which new mannequin the corporate is planning to announce subsequent.
Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman, who usually reveals correct insights into Apple’s plans, just lately reported that Apple is presently planning to host a particular occasion on Tuesday, March 8. The occasion is anticipated to not less than embrace the announcement of the third-generation iPhone SE and the fifth-generation iPad Air.
A current report from Gurman claimed that Apple’s spring occasion will embrace the announcement not less than one new Mac powered by Apple silicon chips. Total, Apple is anticipated to launch 5 new Macs this yr:
Laptops
- Redesigned MacBook Air with M2 chip and a number of shade choices
- Refreshed entry-level 13-inch MacBook Professional with ‌M2‌ chip
Desktops
- Redesigned high-end 27-inch ‌iMac‌ with M1 Professional and M1 Max
- Redesigned high-end ‌Mac mini‌ with ‌M1 Professional‌ and ‌M1 Max‌
- Redesigned ‌Mac Professional‌ with Apple silicon
Gurman urged that the Mac unveiled on the spring Apple occasion could also be both the brand new mini-LED iMac or the Mac mini, with the opposite three fashions apparently being unlikely to emerge earlier than the autumn.
There have been no indications that the redesigned ‌MacBook Air‌ or ‌Mac Professional‌ might be arriving subsequent month, and it presently seems to be just like the announcement of the ‌Mac mini‌ is the most probably eventuality. Not solely was the ‌Mac mini‌ rumored to launch at Apple’s October occasion final yr alongside the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional Fashions, however the ‌Mac mini‌ launch date rumor comes by cross-referencing credible current experiences from show analyst Ross Younger and Gurman.
In December 2021, Younger stated {that a} new ‌iMac‌ Professional mannequin with a mini-LED show was going to launch within the spring, and Gurman additionally floated the potential for this machine being introduced at a spring occasion, possible in March or April. Now, Younger says that he now not expects the brand new iMac Professional to launch within the spring, with a “summer season” launch seeming extra possible for the high-end all-in-one system. Panel shipments for the ‌iMac‌ Professional are anticipated to start in June, and a launch might comply with in August or September.
Apple has been rumored to be engaged on a Mac mini to interchange the Intel-based fashions which can be nonetheless within the product lineup for a while. Apple up to date the entry-level ‌Mac mini‌ with the ‌M1‌ chip in November 2020, however the high-end providing remains to be the House Grey mannequin with an Intel processor from 2018. It’s this high-end mannequin that’s anticipated to get replaced this yr with an Apple silicon mannequin that options the primary redesign since 2010.
The brand new system is anticipated to function the ‌M1 Professional‌ and ‌M1 Max‌ chips from the MacBook Professional, as much as 64GB of reminiscence, 4 Thunderbolt ports, a design with a “plexiglass-like” high, and extra. For extra details about what to anticipate from the high-end ‌Mac mini‌, see our detailed information.
Taking all the accessible proof into consideration, because of this the high-end ‌Mac mini‌ is probably going the brand new Mac that may announce at Apple’s spring occasion, however it’s potential that the corporate might unveil a couple of Apple silicon Mac on the occasion.
In December, Gurman was first to report that Apple was planning to launch an up to date entry-level MacBook Professional with the ‌M2‌ chip and no Contact Bar this yr. Whereas this machine was usually been assumed to be arriving later within the yr, a current report from DigiTimes claimed that this mannequin is about to reach as quickly as March. Lining up with this, the respected leaker behind the proper rumors in regards to the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional fashions final yr additionally just lately claimed that the brand new 13-inch MacBook Professional will debut in March.
A March unveiling for the up to date entry-level MacBook Professional appears questionable since this may be the debut of the ‌M2‌ chip, which can make extra sense to seem in a redesigned Mac such because the ‌MacBook Air‌ first, nevertheless it stays a chance given current rumors. It might maybe be extra comprehensible if the ‌M2‌ additionally appeared in a brand new ‌Mac mini‌ mannequin on the occasion.
Rumors point out that the high-end ‌Mac mini‌ will mirror the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Professional’s chip choices, however this doesn’t disqualify Apple from additionally upgrading the entry-level ‌Mac mini‌ from the ‌M1‌ chip to the ‌M2‌, despite the fact that there have been no experiences to recommend this.
Regardless, there are different vital questions round how the brand new entry-level MacBook Professional will take the center floor between the the present high-end MacBook Professional and the ‌‌M2‌‌ ‌‌MacBook Air‌‌ that’s anticipated to reach later this yr.
By way of the March occasion’s Mac unveilings, it is very important notice that Apple filed three new Mac fashions within the Eurasian Financial Database earlier this month with the mannequin numbers A2615, A2686, and A2681, which means that the launch of latest machines is imminent. A2681 is alleged to be a laptop computer, whereas the opposite two Macs are desktop machines. It appears believable that this pertains to two ‌Mac mini‌ fashions and one 13-inch MacBook Professional mannequin.
Studies within the quick run-up to Apple occasions usually reveal essential particulars about new merchandise, as was the case with the last-minute revelation of the MacBook Professional’s notch final yr, so extra details about new Macs might nonetheless come to mild within the coming weeks earlier than the spring occasion.
