Even before Apple ’s M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBooks murder the market , rumblings offuture Apple siliconwere already pip the wire . Dubbed the M2 , this chip is the probable successor to the M1 that powers theMacBook Air,13 - inch MacBook Pro , Mac miniskirt , and the24 - inch iMac . concord to reports , it will arrive in the first half of 2022 .
And search at the calendar—2022 is just around the recess . So if you ’re wondering whether you should wait for the M2 instead of seat in an M1 MacBook Air or M1 Pro MacBook Pro , we ’re here to avail .
M1, M1 Pro, and M1 Max
Apple ’s first three Mac chips are all build on the same computer architecture but they ’re quite dissimilar :
As you could see the crisp are quite different . While they ’re all build on the same 5 nm die unconscious process , the M1 Pro has much more tycoon , especially when using apps that take advantage of more than one marrow . The M1 is a very good chip , but the M1 Pro is a great one with mind - blow speed and excellent upgrade choice . As you’re able to see in the CPU benchmarks below , the superfluous heart and soul go a foresighted direction and that ’s before you take graphics and random access memory into accounting . Apple has deliver a chip that ’s big for professional but might betoo fastfor casual users .
M2: Specs and speed
agree to several reports , the M2 will make its debut in the next MacBook Air . It will be faster than the M1 , but Bloombergreportsthat it will have the same number of CPU pith as the M1 and up to 10 graphics cores . That would put the M2 nigher to the M1 than the M1 Pro .
The M2 ’s debut in Apple ’s thinnest and lightest laptop computer aver a fortune about the chip . Like the current MacBook Air , reportssay the 2022 MacBook Air wo n’t have a fan for temperature reduction , which could mean Apple will be bound the M2 ’s carrying into action to maintain a proper operating temperature . Ifthe A15is any meter reading , the M2 chip could bring a unmarried - nub carrying into action boost of roughly 10 percentage over the M1 and 20 percent beneficial multi - core CPU performance . On the GPU side , we saw speeds that were 40 to 50 percent faster than the iPhone 12 ’s A14 potato chip when compare with the higher - last iPhone 13 Pro and about 25 percentage higher with the 4 - core GPU in the iPhone 13 .
The 2022 MacBook Air could front very different from the current Air ( pictured ) , and it could have an M2 chip .
Jason Cross / IDG
Compared to the M1 , we ’ll credibly see the M2 growth in processor performance to be about 15 per centum with a large start in GPU performance . The M1 Pro , with its eight or 10 CPU core ( two efficiency marrow , the rest are carrying out cores ) , boasts multi - core CPU carrying into action that ’s about 70 percent better than the M1 , so even with a nice growth , the M2 will still be importantly slower overall than the M1 Pro .
M2 vs M1 Pro: No comparison
The M1 Pro is build for software that can take advantage of multi - core processing and GPUs . If you ’re a pro who uses mainframe - intensive apps , do n’t expect , invest in an M1 Pro MacBook Pro now . base on what we know about the M2 , it will offer a adequate melioration over the M1 and creep a little close to the M1 Pro , but not enough to anywhere near matching it .
But for coarse tasks , the M2 could be still faster than Apple ’s flagship processor . The M1 Pro ’s single - core performance is essentially the same as the M1 ( which is carry , since the M1 Pro is based on the M1 ) , and if the M2 follow the path of the A15 , unmarried - core velocity will be a fleck quicker than all of the M1 potato chip , include the Pro and the Max .
The 14 - column inch MacBook Pro has a great sieve — but it would n’t be anything without the M1 crisp .
IDG
If the estimate that the M2 ’s individual - core performance could be dependable than the M1 Pro pique your interest , an M1 Pro — and probably any subsequent Pro microchip — is overkill for what you do in the first place . individual - core performance is important for common apps such as Mail and Photos , so the speed gains there could be more worthwhile than the multi - core performance of the M1 Pro . But the M1 is already great for that poppycock , so we ’d commend one of those unless you ’re interested in the MacBook Air ’s rumored redesign — at which point the Saratoga chip does n’t really matter .
There ’s also the question of the 13 - column inch MacBook Pro : Will Apple decide to keep it , and if so , will it get an M2 ? The current model has the same fleck as the MacBook Air , but its fan keep thing a small tank so it can play at higher speed for longsighted . In our testing , the 13 - column inch M1 MacBook Pro was marginally faster than the M1 MacBook Air , though the MacBook Pro can sustain its speeding longer than the Air , and we expect similar results for the M2 . That ’s still not enough incentive to wait for an M2 instead of buying an M1 Pro .
M2 Pro: The future
concord to rumors , Apple is n’t done with the M1 Pro and M1 Max . Far from it . The new scrap will in all likelihood end up in at least two more Macs in 2022 : the27 - column inch iMacand thehigh - end Mac miniskirt .
So what about an M2 Pro ? That ’s surely coming after the M2 , butit could be a while . The M1 Pro just made its introduction , and the rumor is that the new M2 MacBook Air wo n’t be available until mid-2022 , about 18 calendar month after the M1 was released . If a Pro chip is on a exchangeable cycle , the M2 Pro wo n’t be available until former 2022 or early 2023 . However , we ’re discover that it will have two dies and perhaps twice as many effect as the M1 Pro and M1 Max . But that ’s long time away . For now , the M1 , M1 Pro , and M1 Max will be enough quick for whatever you ask your Mac to do .
