- The M2 chip is being tested on third-party apps on nine different Macs
- MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro and a Mac Mini are being tested with an M2 chip
- Apple unveiled the M1 Ultra in March 2022
Apple is gearing up to launch its next M-series chipset, the M2 chip, with its upcoming models. As per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company has already started testing at least nine Macs with four different M2 chip variants on third-party apps. People familiar with the matter have reportedly seen new Macs in the app logs.
The report claims that the models tested with the base M2 chip include a MacBook Air, Mac mini and an entry-level MacBook Pro. All new Macs are expected to be introduced sometime this year.
M2-powered Macs coming soon
The MacBook Air with an M2 chip (codename J413) reportedly has eight CPU cores and 10 graphics cores. The base variant of the MacBook Pro (codename J493) and a Mac mini (codename J473) also apparently share a similar configuration as the MacBook Air. A Mac mini (codename J474) carries an M2 Pro chip, as per the report.
The same is followed by the MacBook Pros 14 and 16-inch units. The 14-inch MacBook Pro (codename J414) has M2 Pro and M2 Max chips with 12 CPU cores and 38 graphics cores paired with 64GB RAM. The 16-inch MacBook Pro (codename J416) with M2 Max shares a similar configuration as the MacBook Pro 14-inch.
Separately, a Mac Pro (codename J180) will debut with a successor to the M1 Ultra chip of the Mac Studio. There is also a Mac mini (codename J374) with an M1 Pro chip being tested alongside an M1 Max version of the same.
Mark Gurman believes that the new MacBook Air, low-end MacBook Pro, and new Mac mini could be released this year, with at least two Macs debuting around the middle of the year. Apple has a WWDC event scheduled starting June 6th, and like the past two years, that too may be virtual.
