With this week's announcements of new iPad Pro, iPad, and Apple TV models out of the way, attention now turns to the Mac. Rumors suggest Apple plans to launch new high-end MacBook Pro and Mac mini models with M2 series chips later this year.
In his newsletter this week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the initial version of macOS Ventura launching on Monday, October 24 will include support for new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models, which he expects to be released in the "near future." The oft-accurate reporter said the new MacBook Pro models will be available with M2 Pro and M2 Max chip options, but he believes there will be minimal other changes to the laptops.
As for the Mac mini, Gurman has previously claimed that new models with both M2 and M2 Pro chip options were in development.
At this point, it seems likely that the new Macs will be announced in November with press releases on the Apple Newsroom site. As noted by Gurman, Apple has launched new Macs in November multiple times in recent years, including the original 16-inch MacBook Pro in 2019 and the first three Macs with the M1 chip in 2020.
The current 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips were released in October 2021 and featured a complete redesign with a notch in the display and additional ports like HDMI, MagSafe, and an SD card reader. Apple last updated the base model Mac mini with the M1 chip in November 2020, and it continues to sell higher-priced Intel configurations with Core i5 and Core i7 processor options.
As for the Mac Pro, Gurman now believes that the high-end desktop tower will not be updated with Apple silicon chips until 2023. He has previously reported that the next Mac Pro will be available with M2 Ultra and M2 Extreme chips. The next MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and 24-inch iMac models are also expected to launch next year.
