We’ve covered several rumours about the next generation of MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and a new and very tasty one has just dropped: the forthcoming super-portable 12-inch MacBook model may be a MacBook Pro rather than a MacBook Air, running M2 Pro and M2 Max silicon in much the same way as today’s 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros run the M1 Pro and Max.
That’s according to twitter user Majin Bu who, as MacRumors reports, has something of a hit-and-miss track record when it comes to Mac leaks: a previous rumour of a 14-inch iPad Pro seems to check out but previous ones haven’t been so successful.
It’s certainly possible, though – and it’d bring back one of the most-missed Macs of all time.
Why a little MacBook Pro goes a long way
When the 12-inch PowerBook G4 launched in 2003, it was revolutionary: for the very first time you could get pro-level power without sacrificing portability. It was only slightly less powerful than a Power Mac G4, the forerunner of today’s Mac Pro and Mac Studio – but you could easily chuck it in a bag and use it in even cramped spaces.
Looking at it today the G4 was a bit of a chunky affair, but you can see from the current M2 MacBook Air that power no longer means bulk: Apple is already putting M2s into Airs, and while the M1 Pro and M1 Max are slightly bigger than the standard M silicon the difference is horizontal, not vertical, so finding a bit of room isn’t an unsolvable problem. Putting Apple’s most powerful silicon into its most portable laptop is exactly the kind of thing you’d hope Apple will do.
