, at least in terms of laptops, is that we will be seeing two new professionally focused MacBook Pro models with a choice of 14-inch or 16-inch screens. The existing design of these larger laptops currently sold with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chipsets will be used again, meaning that for all practical purposes, Tim Cook and his team will be offering a chipset upgrade and no more.
It’s unlikely that consumers will need to upgrade to gain all that power. Apple’s move to ARM-based silicon in 2020 reset the expectations of the MacBook platform. The vast majority of consumers will have an excess of power in their existing M2 MacBook Air or M2 MacBook Pro. if the M2 Pro and M2 Max MacBooks offer overkill in terms of performance, the M3 Pro and M3 Max variants will feel like offering a Formula 1 car to your Great Aunt so she can nip down to the local market for some marmalade.
Another consideration has to be the launch of the 15-inch MacBook Air in June. Powered by the M2 chipset, to update the MacBook Air five months after releasing one of the most discussed consumer laptops would be a slap in the face to many who invested their money in Apple’s laptop family. Who would want to find their laptop had been superseded before the end of the year?Getty Images
One is to wait until the consumer-focused M3 MacBooks are launched, specifically the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models. These are expected towards the latter half of Q2 2024… just in time to be launched at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference. These will offer a step up in power and maythat go beyond the “faster chips” approach we will likely see next week.