Apple Inc on Tuesday revealed MacBooks powered by its new and more rapid M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in a surprise takeoff week ahead of its expected schedule.
The roll-out of the devices utilizing Apple’s most delinquent versions of the M2 chip. Which it debuted the previous year as an outgrowth of the tech giant’s decision in 2020 to operate semiconductors developed in-house after 15 years of depending on Intel’s technology.
Price and Availability- M2 Pro and Max Chips
The new Mac mini begins at $599 and will be available from Jan 24. The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the most delinquent chips start at $1,999. Corresponding with the $1,299 price tag for a 13-inch model fitted with the M2 chip.
The new Macbook Pro models were anticipated for months, but supply-chain problems meant the launch was postponed from last year to early 2023, Bloomberg News reported in October.
Specs and Features
“This is all related to the postponed chipset transition. With it being postponed, Apple has been met with the questions to wait for the formal, anticipated launch or do something a bit surprising,” said Canalys analyst Runar Bjørhovde.
“This is a wonderful way of throwing things around and shaking the consumers and prospects,” Bjørhovde stated. Adding that the announcement could cause some hype when the broader personal computer market decreases.
Shares of Apple increased about 1%, outperforming a broadly more fragile market. The stock lost about 27% in 2022, its most significant fall since the 2008 financial crisis.
Apple said the new M2 Pro has nearly 20% more transistors than the M1 Pro and double the amount in M2. Supporting programs like Adobe Photoshop to run heavy workloads “faster than ever.”
The company, which gets its chips manufactured by Taiwan’s TSMC, returned chipmaker Nvidia as one of the leading ten semiconductor sellers by revenue last year, according to a Gartner report on Tuesday.
“We assess that these (Apple) chips are equivalent to $17.6 billion in 2022. The change comes from the raised cost of ever more complex chips,” said Andrew Norwood, VP Analyst at Gartner.
Apple usually has its first event of the year in March, when it rolls out its iMacs and other accessories. This year’s spring event could include the launch of a long-awaited augmented reality headset, Bloomberg News noted earlier this year.
