We ’ve reached the ending of the year , andjust like last yearthat mean it ’s fourth dimension for me to search ahead atwhat ’s coming for us in 2023 . These are my unfearing predictions ! Okay , maybe there ’s a thin bit of care . Do n’t look at once into my eye . I ’m sensitive that mode .
While this class ’s Mac lineup was a little less than I expected – probably due to supply - strand issues – I surmise that ’s go to leave in ahuge2023 for the Mac . And on the iPad side , while I expect a smooth class , there ’s still a wild card that might make a bit of noise .
The rise of the super Macs
Apple promised the end of the Apple silicon transition in two years , and that was two years ago , so … barring any surprise end - of - yr Mac announcements , we ’re give way to have to assume that the final pieces of the Apple silicon puzzle will be a part of the company ’s 2023 Mac slate .
This means that in 2023 , the more advanced translation of the M2 central processor the company introduced this summer will in the end arrive . And while the M2 is definitely a small stride forward from the already - impressive M1 , I have the spirit that the forthcoming high - performance M2 variants will push the Mac into places it ’s never been before .
The Intel - base Mac mini ’s days are count .
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Let ’s start with the easy stuff : It had been rumored that Apple ’s MacBook Pro and Mac mini updates were originally targeted for this fall , but they were manifestly advertise off into the new year . What a great way of life to start 2023 !
We ’re talking 14- and 16 - inch MacBook Pros that will be largely unchanged on the exterior from the redesigned 2021 models … but they ’ll be powered by M2 Pro processors on the interior , pushing the Mac laptop line to newfangled peak .
On the Mac mini side , it ’s at long last time to withdraw that Intel - found , blank gray gamey - oddment Mac mini and replace it with a new model that uses the M2 Pro processor , bringing the Pro - tier check to the desktop for the very first time . ( I get into there will be both a unembellished M2 and M2 Pro variant , while the Mac Studio continue to cool with its M1 Max and M1 Ultra options … for now . )
Then thing take up to heat up up . The Apple atomic number 14 Mac Pro ! This is travel to be the year . The tangible interrogative sentence is , what does a Mac Pro run Apple atomic number 14 front like ? ground on story and coarse sense , I ’m going to predict that it ’s a modest version of the Intel Mac Pro intention , thoroughgoing with cheese - grater hole and big loopy handles , and on the inside , there will be alternative for gamy - speed warehousing and networking expansion as well as extra processing world power . Whether Apple supports expansion standards or builds something new , I do n’t know . I would bet the Mac Pro is more expandable than we fear but less traditionally expandable than the Mac Pros of the Intel era .
base onreportsfrom Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman , everyone expect the Mac Pro to be powered by an M2 Ultra cow dung . Think of it as a really , really vainglorious Mac Studio .
And what better couple for the Mac Pro than a new Apple external video display ? After year of predicting one and being wrong , I finally got it right with the reaching of the Studio Display in 2022 . Butrumors aboundthat Apple ’s working on an even pricier model with Micro - run backlighting and ProMotion that will put the current Pro Display XDR to shame . 2023 is a in effect time to make it happen .
Old friends and new
If you think about how important laptop computer are to the Mac line , it ’s actually surprising how few role model variations Apple offers . There are three MacBook Pros , but only one MacBook Air – two if you reckon the M1 - coevals model still being sell for $ 999 . That ’s a bit queer for Apple ’s undivided most democratic Mac model , do n’t you think ?
If the rumor are true – and they ’re really too logical to refuse – we’ll see asecond MacBook Airthis year . unluckily , I do n’t think my ambition of asmallermodel than the 13 - in one will hail reliable . rather , it ’ll be a larger role model , 15 inches , allowing people to buy a bigger laptop computer with a courteous grown screen without shelling out for MacBook Pro performance that ’s unnecessary for most users .
11 - inch MacBook Air return ? Nah , Apple is going bigger .
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This brings us to Apple ’s flagship desktop Mac , the iMac . The24 - column inch M1 iMacwas released with ostentation in 2021 , but it ’s now a piece long in the tooth . meter for an update , with a unexampled mainframe and peradventure even some new colors . But more exciting than a unexampled iMac is the prospect of a novel , large good example – rent ’s call itiMac Pro – with a similar design but a larger covert . The iMac Pro will also bring M2 Max and Ultra chip options to the iMac line for the first meter .
That new iMac sounds great . If I had n’t buy a Mac Studio and Studio Display this year , I ’d want one myself . Unfortunately , I rue to inform you that it wo n’t be uncommitted in fun colors because that ’s just not how Apple ramble for merchandise with Pro in the name . You ’ll get it in silver gray or space grey and if you ’re very , very lucky , peradventure Midnight . That ’s it .
iPad: The quiet time
It sure enough feels like we ’re in a letup for iPad hardware . Apple just revised the low - endiPadand the iPad Pro , and those are products that run to only get update every 18 month or so . The iPad Air is quick for an M2 f number bump , I suppose , but is n’t the M1 really a better paroxysm for that product ?
So is there going to be anything interesting in 2023 when it come to the iPad ? While I ’m not completely convinced this is going to happen , I ’m go to take the plunge : There wo n’t be raw 11- and 12.9 - column inch iPad Pro models , but 2023will be the yearwhen Apple introduces the next - generation iPad Pro excogitation language in the mannikin of a mega 15 - column inch iPad Pro ( or iPad Studio ? ) complete with new accessories to let it be an creative person ’s tool , work in a laptop contour , or even dock with an external display . The little iPad Pro model will have to expect for 2024 to pick up characteristic from big brother .
A mega iPad Pro in 2023 ? Seems like it .
Malus pumila
Now , what about the iPhone , wearables , and any brand - new product categories ? What will 2023 bring for Apple in those areas ? For the answers – and yes , we are treating my predictions asanswersfor the purposes of these columns – you’ll need to check back here next calendar week .
