The rumor: The follow-up to Apple’s game-changing M1 chip will be a minor upgrade, according to Mark Gurman (87% accurate, via Power On).
- “From what I’m hearing, the M2 will be a marginally faster version of the M1 chip from late 2020. I’d expect the same overall CPU core count—4 high-performance cores and 4 energy-efficient cores—but a bit of a stronger GPU. That likely means 9 or 10 GPU cores, an upgrade from the current 7 or 8 graphics core options on the M1” Gurman says
- Apple is likely to first place the M2 chip in a redesigned MacBook Air sometime in 2022
Our take: This is the first we’ve heard of actual specs for the M2: an 8-core CPU and 9/10-core GPU. Definitely smaller improvements than I would’ve expected, but keep in mind that this chip will be powering Apple’s most affordable Macs, not the higher-end pro line of computers.