It’s nearly Tim Time
Not long now until Apple’s first event of the year….let’s look at what we may get
I had to pinch myself this morning. Do you know, it’s approaching four months since our last Apple event! That’s right, hard as it may be to believe, but the M1 Pro & M1 Max MacBook Pro’s, were announced at the final event of 2021, and that was on 18 October. It’s truly crazy how fast time has flown past, yet here we are on the precipice of another event. At the time of writing, invites could be landing with us within 24 hours if the rumours of 8 March are to be believed. So, with that in mind, I thought it may be fun, to whip out my Apple smudged crystal ball and have an optimistic look in to the future as to what may be up Uncle Tim’s sleeve.
2022 in a snapshot
If we put to one side, just for the moment, the software, and iOS updates that we will be seeing this year, hardware wise, it looks set to be a busy, busy year ahead. This is what we are thinking, at this stage, we will see;
- iPad Air
- 5G iPhone SE
- Apple Watch Series 8
- iPhone 14
- iPad Pro
- M1 Pro Mac mini
- M2 Mac mini
- 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro
- M2 iMac 24 — inch
- M2 MacBook Air
- M1 Pro and M1 Max iMacPro 27–inch
- Apple Silicone Mac Pro
- AR/VR Headset
That is quite some lineup, I am sure you will agree, and to achieve this, they will have to strategise the various releases with military precision (something at which they are experts). Let’s try to pull apart this list a little and see if we can make any sense of what is coming and when.
March releases
High on the agenda must be the final migration to Apple Silicone and the dumping of any remaining ties to the Intel Corp. The transition was unveiled in November 2020 with M1 versions of the MacBook Pro, Mac mini and MacBook Air. Of course, it continued at pace last year with the release of the M1 iMac 24 inch, M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBook Pros.
This March event, is set to focus on the release of the 5G iPhone SE and iPad Air. However, given the amount of Mac’s that are to be released in 2022, I’d be amazed not to witness some basic changes to Apple Silicone Mac’s at this event. The easiest upgrades would be to pop an M2 chip in to the original, and first released M1 chip machines, namely the entry-level MacBook Pro and Mac mini. My guess is, that in this upcoming March event, we will get the 5G iPhone SE, iPad Air, M2 Mac mini and M2 MacBook.
And on to WWDC
In the summer, Apple will want to tease developers and drum up support for the super-powered Mac Pros. It would make total sense if they were to announce the machines at WWDC and then ship in the fall or even early 2023.
The final rounds of the year
It makes sense for the newly designed MacBook Air to debut later in the year. With its array of colours, M2 chip, thinner bezels, improved speakers, amazing portability and squared of design. It is a perfect student Mac and one ideal for college use. So, with students returning to studies in the autumn, you can see my line of thinking, right?
Three events later this year would not surprise me given the sheer magnitude and scale of the agenda they have to summit over the next few months.
September is historically iPhone month, and there is no reason to think that will change this year. We know the iPhones are on schedule as they went in to pre-production checks last week. Subsequently, possibly in October we will see the larger iMac Pro, and Mac mini pros. Then, to the last event of the year in November, and the release of a revised iPad Pro and Apple Watch Series 8, both of which make prefect Christmas presents.
Don’t forget, the headset is due to become a reality as well. I wrote recently how Apple are keen to try to release that at an in-person event. I reckon, there may be a teaser in the November event, with a view to release by Q2 of 2023.
Introducing the M2 chips
Much of the above relies on the new M2 inside, so, I thought it may be worth recapping upon what we know about this new Apple Silicone chip. Likely, they will probably be a bit speedier than the M1’s. Graphics, which are anticipated to get a boost, from seven or eight cores to nine or even ten. The chip will almost certainly retain the same eight-core architecture. In-keeping with current trends, the M2 Pro & Max versions will then become available in spring of 2023. The M3 will then be hot on its heels, and then the merry-go-round will start all over again.
As for the Mac Pro chips, well, they will come in two main configurations. Firstly, there will be one that doubles the M1 Max’s capabilities and then one that quadruples it! Twenty CPU cores and 64 graphics cores can be expected on the first chip, with 40 CPU cores and 128 graphics cores on the second. So, that is what all the fuss is about then!
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Originally published at https://www.talkingtechandaudio.com/blog on February 28, 2022.
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