One other month, one other Apple occasion. Contemporary off a September occasion that delivered new updates for all the iPhone lineup, some new iPads, and a gently tweaked Apple Watch, Apple is making ready for an additional occasion on Monday, October 18. And this time, we’re anticipating the corporate to deal with the Mac, which remains to be in the midst of a transition from Intel chips to the Apple Silicon chips which can be making new Macs really feel thrilling and essential in a method they have not in years.
We’ll be following alongside dwell beginning at 10 am Pacific on Monday, however within the meantime, we have gathered all the present rumors and put collectively an inventory of issues we’re almost certainly to see (in addition to one or two issues that are not as possible). The brief model is that Apple ought to lastly be gearing as much as present us high-performance Apple Silicon chips.
The “M1X” chip, or no matter it’s known as
Simply because the MacBook Air, the latest 13-inch MacBook Professional, the Mac mini, and the 24-inch iMac all use the identical M1 chip, we count on the subsequent spherical of Macs to share the identical silicon as properly. Generally known as the “M1X,” the chip’s precise specs are a little bit of a thriller, since Apple’s chip designs are amongst its best-kept secrets and techniques. Nevertheless it’s not exhausting to guess the final gist of what we’ll be getting—new chips that enhance upon the efficiency of the Intel processors they’re changing whereas additionally enabling a dramatic enhance in battery life. Current Intel MacBook refreshes have struggled to supply one or the opposite of these items, however the M1 Macs managed to do each.
To interchange the higher-end Intel Macs, the M1X might want to have only a bit extra of every little thing in comparison with the M1: extra processor cores, extra GPU cores, and assist for extra displays and Thunderbolt and USB ports. With out adapters or docks, the M1 can drive solely two screens without delay, together with the pc’s inner show. We might additionally count on configurations with greater than 16 GB of RAM, the present most for M1 Macs.
A report from late final 12 months prompt {that a} higher-performance chip destined for the MacBook Execs might embody as many as 16 of Apple’s efficiency cores, although more moderen reporting suggests we might be a chip with eight efficiency cores and two low-power effectivity cores. Even eight efficiency cores ought to be capable of outpace the 4-, 6-, 8-, and 10-core processors in right this moment’s Intel Macs. The M1X will even reportedly be obtainable with both 16 or 32 GPU cores, in comparison with the seven or eight GPU cores included in the usual M1 (Apple might additionally enhance graphics efficiency by rising reminiscence bandwidth, because it has accomplished in some older iPad processors, however we have not heard something particular about that).
New MacBook Execs
New MacBook Execs that change the four-port 13-inch MacBook Professional and the 16-inch MacBook Professional are the factor we’re almost certainly to get out of Monday’s occasion.
Apple’s first few Apple Silicon Macs have been very conservative from a design standpoint—the MacBook Air, two-port MacBook Professional, and Mac mini all put new guts into computer systems that seemed similar to those they have been changing. However the brand new MacBook Execs might be a bit extra adventurous, within the vein of the 24-inch iMac.
For instance, persistent rumors declare that the 13-inch MacBook Professional might develop into a 14-inch MacBook Professional. And breadcrumbs left in some macOS betas recommend that Apple is engaged on laptops with higher-resolution screens that would obviate the necessity for the scaled, non-native decision that each one present MacBooks use out of the field. With a extra environment friendly chip, Apple might additionally take the chance to shrink the 16-inch MacBook Professional’s large 100 WHr battery, decreasing the 4.3-pound laptop computer’s dimension and weight. Different enhancements might embody extra energy-efficient mini LED backlighting for the shows and probably even a 120 Hz refresh fee (the reporting for the 120 Hz refresh fee is skinny, however it could dovetail properly with macOS Monterey’s assist for exterior displays with variable refresh charges).
