Faster MacBook Pros are coming, and could launch in weeks

Latest reports suggest an October launch date for Apple's biggest, baddest MacBook Pros

Apple MacBook Pro M2
(Image credit: Apple)

Apple's 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are incredibly powerful laptops and arguably the best laptops Apple has ever made – and new models are imminent. According to some reports they could arrive as soon as October, possibly during the same Apple event that'll launch the next, M2, iPad Pro.

The latest report comes from DigiTimes via MacRumors, which says that Apple intends to launch new MacBook Pro models in the fourth quarter of 2022. It doesn't specifically mention the 14 and 16-inch models, but as we've already seen the 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro this year then they're the most likely to be updated. 

What to expect from the new 2022 M2 MacBook Pros

If the previous generation is any guide, the new M2 MacBook Pros will be significantly more powerful than the 13-inch: the current models have higher-powered versions of the M1 processor, so M2 Pro and M2 Max chips seem likely for 2022. The rumoured 3nm chips aren't expected to make it into the 2022 models, but the newer 5nm version should still deliver performance and energy improvements.

According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has an enviable track record of breaking Apple news, we shouldn't expect major differences in these MacBook Pros: it's all about the performance improvements. That means if you already have a 14- or 16-inch MacBook Pro with an M-series processor the new models won't be compelling upgrades – yearly updates to powerful laptops rarely are – but they should be much, much more powerful than the first-gen M1 MacBook Pro. 

That said, the real speed bump is likely to come next year with the move to 3nm – so if you're not pushing your existing Pro to the limit, it might be worth waiting another year for what promises to be a very big update indeed.

Carrie Marshall

Writer, musician and broadcaster Carrie Marshall has been covering technology since 1998 and is particularly interested in how tech can help us live our best lives. Her CV is a who’s who of magazines, newspapers, websites and radio programmes ranging from T3, Techradar and MacFormat to the BBC, Sunday Post and People’s Friend. Carrie has written more than a dozen books, ghost-wrote two more and co-wrote seven more books and a Radio 2 documentary series. When she’s not scribbling, she’s the singer in Glaswegian rock band HAVR (havrmusic.com).