The first-generation Apple Silicon has four builds: M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max, and M1 Ultra (starting from least powerful to the max). Every new M1 variant was more advanced with more CPU cores, GPU cores, or RAM.
In July this year, Apple launched its second-generation Silicon, the M2 chip in the new 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro (base model).
Based on the knowledge of the M2 chip and M1-series, the publisher extrapolated the specs of the rest of the M2-series and the details of the Macs to feature them.
Apple is still expected to launch M2 Mac in October this year
According to the report, M2 Pro and M2 Max chips will launch in October this year. As the M2 chip features more GPU cores and RAM than the M1 chip, the expected specs of the new variants are:
- M2 Pro (predicted): up to 10-core CPU, up to 20-core GPU, up to 48GB RAM
- M2 Max (predicted): up to 10-core CPU, 40-core GPU, up to 96GB RAM
- M1 Pro: up to 10-core CPU, up to 16-core GPU, up to 32GB RAM
- M1 Max: up to 10-core CPU, up to 32-core GPU, up to 96GB RAM
The M2 Ultra and Extreme are expected to launch in 2023. Interestingly, the report also mentions that Apple might launch an M1 Extreme variant too.
- M2 Ultra (predicted): 24-core CPU, 80-core GPU, up to 192GB RAM
- M2 Extreme (predicted): 48-core CPU, 160-core GPU cores, up to 384GB RAM
- M1 UltraL: up to 24-core CPU, up to 64-core GPU, up to 64GB RAM
- M1 Extreme (predicted): 48-core CPU and 128-core GPU cores, up to 128GB RAM
Here are the expected new products to feature the next-generation Apple Silicon.
- M2 chip – Mac mini, 24-inch Mac, and iPad Pro
- M2 Pro and M2 Max – 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, iMac Pro
- M2 Ultra and M2 Extreme – Mac Pro
Macworld’s predictions on the M2- series and expected products are corroborated by Mark Gurman from Bloomberg but not the launch date. Recently, Gurman reported that Apple will not host a Mac event in October this year.
The report also clarifies that although the CPU and GPU cores of the M2 chip appear the same as the M1 chip, they are not built on the same process. It is expected that the M2 series might be built on an advanced 5nm process or 3nm process to deliver faster performance and power efficiency than the predecessor.
