Ahead of Apple's Peek Performance event on Tuesday, a developer has discovered evidence that Apple is testing the M2 Apple Silicon chip, which is set to first appear in a new MacBook Air and an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro.
As Mark Gurman writes in the latest edition of his “Power On” newsletter reported, a "developer source" informed him that Apple has been testing a chip with an eight-core CPU and a ten-core GPU on several Macs running the latest macOS beta over the past few weeks.
M2 chip: The first major Apple Silicon update
I'm told by a developer source that Apple has been testing a new chip with an eight-core CPU (four efficiency cores and four high-performance cores) and 10 GPU cores on several Macs over the past few weeks. These are exactly the specs of the M2 chip I reported on last year. Apple has been testing this new chip on machines running macOS 12.3 (which will be released in the next week or two and should run on the new Macs) and a future macOS 12.4, as well as macOS 13, which will be unveiled at WWDC 2022 in June.
A similar story played out in the lead-up to Apple's Mac event in October, where the M1 Pro and M1 Max chip names appeared in app logs. Apple's M2 chip will be the first significant upgrade to Apple's own silicon in the Mac since its launch. Apple unveiled the M1 chip in November 2020 and has since introduced more powerful versions of the chip, including the M1 Pro and M1 Max. It's believed the M2 chip will first appear in an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro and a completely redesigned MacBook Air.
What else will Apple present at the next event?
Gurman said today that a new Mac mini, which will feature M1 Pro and M1 Max chips, is "ready to launch" and could be released next week. A new 13-inch MacBook Pro and a new iMac could launch "as early as the first half of the year," Gurman added. Gurman reiterated his expectations for Apple's "Peek Performance" event on Tuesday. As reported in previous rumors and leaks, a new iPhone SE is expected to be announced with the same 4.7-inch design as the previous model, but with 5G connectivity and a new chip. A new iPad Air with A15 chip, Center Stage and 5G connectivity is also rumored to be unveiled at the event. In addition to the new iPhone, iPad and at least one new Apple Silicon Mac, a fourth "wildcard" announcement is possible, according to Gurman.
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"Peek performance." event reminder: If you don’t want to miss anything, you should download our app and activate push notifications. In our separate event section you will find all relevant articles about the next event - we look forward to seeing you. Are you looking for new MagSafe accessories from Apple? Then take a look at AmazonThere you will find Apple's MagSafe chargers, power adapters, cases and the external battery at a discount. In addition, we have dozens of other recommendations in our storefront, including from Nomad, Anker and Pitaka – enjoy browsing. (Image: Jon Prosser x Rendersbyan)
