With the launch of the new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips in the new MacBook Pro, Apple revealed the path and the nomenclature that he will follow with his chips own design. We have an M1 for general-purpose Macs, an M1 Pro for professionals who want more performance, and an M1 Max for those who demand the most.
Therefore, it is not too difficult to think of a future composed of M2, M2 Pro and M2 Max chips. From there, it’s easier to imagine Apple Silicon’s agenda for the next few years. But yes, as long as the transition lasts, we will still have doubts about the computers and the ranges in which we will see these chips.
The end of the road will come in fall 2022 with a new Mac Pro
For example, we have yet to see that new iMac with bigger screen. If the rumors are true and it comes with ProMotion, it will require the M1 Pro chip to be able to move that many pixels at a maximum of 120Hz. And a model with the M1 Max chip is also likely to arrive, for those who want legendary performance. If it fits on a MacBook Pro, it will fit on an iMac.
A legitimate question is, for example, if there can be a 27-inch iMac that holds the M1 chip. Even without ProMotion, in order to offer a cheap alternative to those who want a big iMac regardless of its power. It shouldn’t cost too much technically.
We can think of something similar with a future Mac mini redesigned which also appeared in the leaks: will you still have an M1 / M2 or maybe there is a more powerful model with the M2 Pro chip? Even though this is Apple’s economic office, there is no reason why there aren’t powerful models. Remember, the Mac mini is the computer that ends up choosing more than a pro for its versatility.
The last word would be the Mac Pro, which I think we will see in a year as exactly the final culmination of the transition. Obviously I would equip an M2 Max, but there is one detail to think about: there is no energy restriction on this computer.
The M1 Max is inside a laptop and that’s already a limitation in itself, but what chip would we have? If this M1 Max could work with the 1.4 kilowatts of the current Mac Pro? I don’t even want to imagine the power we could get. Apple could even put in its own external graphics cards, which would break all the molds.
It will be in this Mac Pro that we will see the ceiling, the maximum peak of Apple Silicon technology. Achievable by only a few, but something tells me it will be glorious.
