Apple to use ‘M2’ chip with new MacBooks launching this year, report claims
Apple has reportedly started mass production of its next-generation M-series chip ahead of its expected launch later this year, according to a new report today from Nikkei Asia.
The tentatively named “M2” chip is said to be launching with new MacBooks that will go on sale before the year’s end – likely the rumored new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro that are rumored to feature a new design with an HDMI port and SD card slot, an upgrade from the thunderbolt 3 USB-C ports and headphone jack the current MacBook Pro features, plus the return of MagSafe.
Apple announced its first M-series chip late last year as part of the iPhone maker’s transition away from Intel processors in its Mac lineup.
The next generation of Mac processors designed by Apple entered mass production this month, sources familiar with the matter told Nikkei Asia, bringing the U.S. tech giant one step closer to its goal of replacing Intel-designed central processing units with its own. – Shipments of the new chipset — tentatively known as the M2, after Apple’s current M1 processor — could begin as early as July for use in MacBooks that are scheduled to go on sale in the second half of this year, the people said.
M1 was the first personal computer chip built using 5-nanometer process technology, packed with 16 billion transistors, the most Apple has ever put into a chip. It features the world’s fastest CPU core in low-power silicon, the world’s best CPU performance per watt, the world’s fastest integrated graphics in a personal computer.