If you were waiting for Apple to announce a new 14-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pro before the end of the year, you're out of luck. During his company's earnings call last week, Tim Cook said the holiday product lineup is "set," which means there are three long-rumored Mac products that won't be part of the 2022 calendar.
Besides next-generation MacBook Pros, Apple has kept its hands off the iMac (last updated in 2021), Mac mini (2020), and Mac Pro (2019).
While nothing is official, Apple didn't necessarily delay these product launches but decided to make them spring releases this time. Continued COVID-19-related supply constraints could also be an issue, although that's little more than speculation.
According to a weekend report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, we should see a second-generation 14-inch MacBook Pro and third-generation 16-inch MacBook Pro sometime in March. Both should include Pro and Max versions of the M2 processor now in the 13-inch MacBook Pro (2022), MacBook Air (2022), and 2022 iPad Pro.
Gurman says the new MacBook Pro models will have the same bodies as the current ones, launched in October 2021, except with new chips inside. The Apple M2 Max will likely get 12 CPU cores, up from 10, and the best GPU will rise from 32 to 38 seats.
Less is known about the new Mac mini, including its launch date, although it will almost certainly be available with some variations of the Apple M2 chip. The Mac Pro is the trickiest of them all. Currently, it's the only Mac that's only available with Intel inside.
No doubt, high-productivity Mac users are yearning to have the option to buy a Mac Pro with Apple silicon. However, the launch earlier this year of the Mac Studio probably relieved some pressure on Apple to get that product out in 2022.
Introducing Macs in the spring instead of the fall has happened many times before. For example, the final 13-inch MacBook Pro without Apple silicon was released in May 2020. That also happened in 2019. However, you'd have to go back to 2009 to find a Mac mini-release date at the beginning of the year. Since then, these devices were released around the Worldwide Developers Conference in the summer or pushed until October.
As an owner of a 14-inch MacBook Pro, I'm thrilled to see my laptop won't get replaced before the end of the year. And yet, I can see why some people might be annoyed by this news.
For months, the rumor mill has said new MacBook Pro models would arrive in October or November. Now that this isn't going to happen, would-be MacBook Pro buyers must decide whether to wait until next spring to purchase or get a 2021 model.
Assuming you have more of a want than a need, I'd suggest holding out until next year. Otherwise, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the 2021 MacBook Pro model. You can also go with the MacBook Air (2022) or 13-inch MacBook Pro (2022). You can also check out our list of the best Macs on the market.
