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Apple Inc on Tuesday unveiled MacBooks powered by its new and faster M2 Pro and M2 Max chips in a surprise launch weeks ahead of its usual schedule.
The release of the devices using Apple’s latest versions of the M2 chip, which debuted last year, is the result of the tech giant’s decision in 2020 to use semiconductors designed in-house after 15 years of relying on Intel technology.
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The new Mac mini starts at $599 and will be available starting January 24. The 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with the latest chips start at $1,999, compared to $1,299 for a 13-inch model equipped with the M2. chip
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The new Macbook Pro models were expected for months, but supply chain issues pushed the launch back from last year to early 2023, Bloomberg News reported in October.
“This is all related to the delayed chipset transition … With the delay, Apple has faced questions to wait for the expected traditional release or do something a little unexpected,” said Canalys analyst Runar Bjørhovde.
“This is a great way to go around and surprise consumers and competitors,” Bjørhovde said, adding that the announcement could generate some hype at a time when the PC market is in a slump.
Apple shares rose about 1%, outperforming a broadly weaker market. The stock lost about 27% in 2022, its biggest drop since the 2008 financial crisis.
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Apple said the new M2 Pro has nearly 20 percent more transistors than the M1 Pro and double the amount of the M2, helping programs like Adobe Photoshop run heavy workloads “faster than ever.”
The company, which makes its chips from Taiwan’s TSMC, replaced chipmaker Nvidia as one of the top 10 semiconductor vendors by revenue last year, according to a Gartner report on Tuesday.
“We estimate the value of these (Apple’s) chips to equal $17.6 billion by 2022. The growth comes from the increasing cost of increasingly complex chips,” said Andrew Norwood, vice president analyst at Gartner.
Apple usually holds its first event of the year in March, when it releases its iMacs and accessories. This year’s spring event could include the launch of a highly anticipated augmented reality headset, Bloomberg News reported earlier this year. (Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bangalore; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Devika Syamnath)
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