MacBook Air – Swiss Army Geek

MacMini

2022 will see an updated MacMini, possibly with a “Pro” moniker attached. This machine will have at the very least, the M1 Pro and M1 Max as options. However, rumors are flying of a dual CPU version, likely of the M1 Max, dubbed M1 Max Duo. This would likely be the SoC for the high-end machines. They are likely to adopt the power supply from the iMac, and perhaps the 10Gb Ethernet in the power brick if possible. I suspect Apple may, with the power of the Pro and Max chips, start to include 2.5 Gb Ethernet as standard starting at this point. I do see the possibility of HDMI 2.1 with the Duo models, as they will actually have the available bandwidth to drive such a device. The Machine will likely only be about 1″ thick, and use a similar cooling system as the MacBook Pros.

iMac

The more professionally directed iMac will also be coming, likely with the same options as the Mini. I do not see Apple adding ports, save for perhaps a USB-A port to this model. HDMI has never been an option on the iMac, as a second screen would likely want to be more capable. 27″ is likely, but so is a larger model, perhaps shedding the M1 Pro chip from the larger size, and adopting the iMac Pro moniker. Given the heat generated by the M1 Pro and M1 Max, I do suspect at slightly thicker design than the M1 iMac, and possibly the color options, with an additional “Space Grey” version.

MacBook (M2)

Rumors are floating around about a new MacBook Air, without the wedge shape, and a design style similar to the MacBook Pros. Additionally, there are rumors about a new base-model MacBook Pro., to replace the 13″ M1. I believe that these rumors actually point to a new machine, the MacBook. Reclaiming its place in the middle of the Apple notebook lineup, like the old polycarbonate models, and the 2008 aluminum model, but not the horrible 2015 model. This will likely have the new screen tech from the MacBook Pros, but limited additional ports, perhaps just HDMI and SD, along with MagSafe 3. It will have a notch too, for the 1080p Camera.

MacBook Air (M2)

I don’t see Apple making many changes to the MacBook Air, except for an additional USB4/TB4 port on the right side, MagSafe 3, and an SD Card Slot. The screen will likely retain the same specs it has now, and may or may not include a notch for a better camera, or they may keep it as is, as the entry level MacBook.

iPad Pro (M2)

There are a ton of rumors about the news iPad Pro having MagSafe. However, they are all thinking, glass backs and the iPhone style MagSafe, when in fact, it will be MagSafe 3 on the bottom with the upgraded USB4/TB4 connector, with support for multiple screens. It will support ProRes recording and decoding, just like the iPhone 13.

MacPro

Expect a MacPro in 2022. It will likely have a smaller case, something similar in size to the Corsair One. It will likely have the option of the M1 Max, M1 Max Duo, and the M1 Max Quad. It will have several USB4/TB4 connectors on the front and back. 2 HDMI 2.1 Ports, SD Card, CF Express, and possibly 1 16x PCIe slot for future upgrades/expansion. RAM will still be included on package, but there is a possibility that given the use of DDR5 in the Unified Memory, that DDR5 expansion, may be possible, but being used as a secondary memory system, much like L1, L2, and L3 Cache are used in CPUs. However, if an M1 Max, supports 64GB, the Max Duo 128, the Mac Quad could support 256, at a theoretical, 1600GB/s, so there may not be a need for more RAM. I would expect internally expandable storage though, hopefully with M.2 NVMe, and maybe 1 or 2 SATA ports, as Pro users would want to keep as much of their active storage inside the machine to prevent data loss while working.

Conclusion

This is a summary of all of the rumors currently circulating. We will see in the spring if any of this is correct. But Apple does have only 11 months to complete their transition, and are actually behind from the last transition, which was claimed to be 24 months, but was in fact 18.

Apple Silicon – The M1

Today was Apple’s “One More Thing” event. Apple finally unveiled the first Desktop capable SOC, the M1. And damn, does it impress. The scale of performance increases, if they are accurate, just blows everything out of the water. I’ll have to see what other reviewers have to say when they get their hands on the machines, but the future looks bright for the Mac.

MacBook Air 13″

This was an expected announcement, the most logical place to have the M1 first appear. With 3-5x the performance increases, 16GB of RAM, 2TB of SSD storage, and WiFi 6 (a first for the Mac), along with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4, this wasn’t just an incremental improvement, it was leaps and bounds beyond what is already on the market. I feel that if these new technologies are properly harnessed, there will be no good reason, aside from incompatible hardware, to suggest that someone buy a budget PC Laptop, especially since laptops under $1000 are disposable items anyway, and the MacBook Air, is certainly not a disposable item. I am still hoping that M1, allows Apple to bring back the 11″ MBA, or a new MacBook 10″ or 12″ in the new year.

MacMini

I had not heard anyone other than myself postulate about a MacMini refresh, but I’m glad it came. It does have slightly lower IO than the previous one, but it has active cooling, and a logic board that doesn’t look much larger than a Raspberry Pi. Honestly, the MacMini may be my next Mac, and if the graphics performance is even remotely close to what is being claimed, I can chuck my PC Laptop with 960M, for a MacMini with integrated graphics, and not scream every time I boot up Cities Skylines.

MacBook Pro 13″

Another properly rumored machine, with just one drawback… only two USB type C ports. I thought Apple had learned that users, especially on the Pro, need and want flexibility, and having 4 ports, or at least one port on each side, fulfills that desire. I can only hope that with a spring refresh, a 4-port version becomes available. The 13″ is too small for me, but I can see this being a bright day for everyone.

Big Sur

Finally, a release date. November 12, with the Macs arriving in homes and stores the following week. They touted the technologies in Big Sur, including those to help with the transition to the M1. I look forward to the changes, to what they mean, and to the challenges that Apple always adds to new OS releases, that make my day job, just that bit harder.

Thoughts

Apple is integrating memory into the M1, both for CPU and GPU. 16GB may not be enough for both tasks. It will be interesting to see if they will retain the integrated memory when they release their chips for iMac, MacBook Pro 16″, and Mac Pro. I would almost love to see them use a hybrid model, much like the way CPU Caches work. Maybe these chips will have 8-16GB built in, then support for DDR4 (or newer, if DDR5 is ever finalized), as a Level 2 RAM. Not quite as fast as the integrated memory, but quite capable of helping. I can’t wait to see re-world benchmarks of these new chips, and what they are actually capable of in the real world. Apple mentioned gaming several times, so it would be nice to know that AAA titles are completely capable on these new machines. I’m also waiting to see if we can actually run Windows via Rosetta 2 in any of the VM environments, which if so, may make the new machines capable workhorses for Windows locked productivity and gaming.

Dissappointments

Honestly, I was hoping for some other changes, but with Touch ID coming to the MBA, I’m happy. They never did say if they put in a 1080P camera, just that they will use Machine Learning to improve the images, which is a little suspicious. They did tout that the MBP and MacMini can run the Pro Display XDR at full resolution, but I’m still holding out hope for a cheaper Apple Display at 4K or 5K in the near future. I am disappointed that there are still limited USB type-C ports on the machines, but thinking about it, the M1 may only be capable of driving 2 Thunderbolt/USB4 ports at this point (limited PCIe lanes available), and the M2 (or whatever they call it), hopefully can drive more, which will be a requirement for the Apple Silicon Mac Pro (which will likely be the last product refreshed).

Let’s reserve final judgement until we see some re-world benchmarks, but I’m excited and I hope you are too… if for no other reason than it seems like Apple has some great hopes, and didn’t just drop the gauntlet at Intel’s feet, but also at AMD.