According to tipster Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple‘s rumored 15-inch MacBooks might be powered by the M2 and M2 Pro processors. Apple’s plans for a 15-inch MacBook was first revealed by DSCC’s Ross Young in March before being reiterated earlier this month by Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman. According to Gurman, Apple is working on a 15-inch MacBook Air that could be released as early as next spring. The latest report now seems to corroborate the earlier rumors, but there are certain areas where the tipsters seem to disagree.
Apple’s latest MacBooks were announced at its recent Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) event, where the company also introduced the newest generation of its in-house Mac processor — the Apple M2. Both the new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air are powered by the new chip and share many similarities in terms of design and hardware. However, the latest MacBook Pro only comes with a 13-inch screen, while the rumored upcoming MacBooks are expected to ship with larger displays.
According to Kuo’s latest tweet, the 15-inch MacBooks will go into mass production in the first half of next year before being made available for purchase in Q2. Kuo further claimed that the devices will come in two main variants – one powered by the standard M2 and one powered by the M2 Pro. While the former will ship with a 35W charging adapter, the latter will come with a 67W adapter. It is worth noting here that Kuo had earlier confirmed that Apple was working on a 15-inch MacBook, but said that it might not come with the ‘Air’ moniker. Kuo didn’t say anything more on the naming front this time around, so it isn’t immediately clear if the 15-inch models will be Air or Pro.
A 12-Inch MacBook Also Coming?
Kuo couldn’t confirm rumors about a 12-inch MacBook. This is in response to an earlier report by Gurman claiming that Apple is working on a new 12-inch MacBook that could be launched at the end of 2023 or early 2024. Gurman also said that he couldn’t confirm whether the 12-inch model will be an entry-level device or a high-end MacBook Pro. Now that Kuo has yet to hear about the device, it will be interesting to see if it even exists.
A new 15-inch MacBook would be in line with Apple’s newfound love for large-screen sizes. After catering to lovers of small display panels for years, the company is expected to ditch the ‘mini’ iPhone this year in favor of a large-screen ‘iPhone 14 Max’ that would come with a larger screen size than the standard iPhone 14. Apple is also said to be working on a 14.1-inch iPad Pro that the company could position as a laptop replacement.
