Apple announced a new generation of MacBook Pro laptops earlier this week, with deliveries beginning on January 24th. According to DigiTimes, Quanta Computer began producing the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros in December 2022 in preparation for Apple’s official launch, and MacBook Airs are next on the agenda.
Apple’s manufacturing partners and supply chain are preparing for a MacBook Air refresh in the second half of 2023, according to DigiTimes. These laptops will almost certainly include a new M3 SoC built on TSMC’s next-generation 3nm node. However, given that Apple’s MacBook Pros have recently received a 5nm M2 Pro/M2 Max upgrade, it’s possible that Apple will not transition to the anticipated 3nm M3 Pro/M3 Max SoCs until 2024.
While the new MacBook Pros appear to be the same on the outside (the design is still relatively new, as they were released in late 2021), there are several internal changes. To begin, they abandon the M1 Pro and M1 Max SoCs in favour of the faster M2 Pro and M2 Max silicon.
Furthermore, despite the fact that the chips are still manufactured on a 5nm node, Apple increased CPU performance by up to 20%, while GPU performance increased by up to 30%. The new MacBook Pros also support Wi-Fi 6E (rather than Wi-Fi 6) and do away with the HDMI 2.0 port in favour of HDMI 2.1.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro starts at $1,999, while the 16-inch model starts at $2,499 in bidding. However, a 16-inch MacBook Pro with M2 Max with 38 GPU cores, 96GB LPDDR5, 8TB storage will set you back $6,299.
While MacBook Pro shipments are important for Apple, the MacBook Air is the company’s main sales driver.
Despite the fact that overall PC shipments fell in 2022, Quanta’s 3% drop to 28.4 million units in the second half was less than its competitors. Quanta’s shipments were held back by strong demand for the refreshed MacBook Air (M2).
During the fourth quarter of 2022, Apple’s overall notebook shipments fell 15.3 percent. However, its main competitors were down 30 to 40% during the same time period. Given the economic downturn and consumers’ increased scepticism about large-ticket purchases, Apple is said to be shifting its product mix to favour more affordable M1-based MacBooks and MacBook Pros.
The MacBook Air (M1) costs $999, while the MacBook Air (M2) costs $1,199. The MacBook Air (M2) has an entirely new chassis design, a larger display, more maximum memory (24GB versus 16GB), and is slightly lighter.
Buy MacBook Air M2: https://amzn.to/3HlBTYx
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