Apple’s Next-Gen ‘M2’ Processor is in Production: Report
The M1 Chip successor from Apple, which is currently being called M2, is looking more likely to arrive in MacBook computers by the end of the year. A new report states that the processor has already gone into mass production and could start shipping as early as July.
This timeline seems to confirm a report from earlier this month that stated the M2 processor would begin production and would therefore arrive in finished Macbook machines by the fall. If production has indeed started, Apple is sticking to that schedule despite the massive silicon shortage that has plagued most computing manufacturers since last year.
According to a recent report from Nikkei and noted by Engadget, the new chips are being produced by a key Apple supplier called Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which is one of the world’s largest chipmakers using a semiconductor production technology called “5-nanometer plus,” or “N5P.” It currently takes about three months to create this advanced chipset, meaning the rumor of the first batch of devices arriving in July of 2021 lines up well with mass production timelines. The rumors are that the first devices that will feature the new chip in that timeline may be new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros.
Given that the M1 chipsets already in use offer CPU performance of up to 85% faster and graphics performance of nearly twice as fast than a similar device using an Intel chipset, the introduction of the chips in the rest of the Apple line up will be a boon for Apple fans. Especially since according to research company IDC, the shift to stay-at-home working due to the global pandemic sparked a jump in Mac sales and shipments of over 29% in 2020. The trend continued even further in the first quarter of this year with Mac sales and deliveries up 111% year over year.
The Apple Silicon lineup is a so-called “system-on-a-chip” that integrates the central processing unit (CPU), graphic processing units (GPU), and artificial intelligence accelerators (AI), all on one chip. The goal of Apple is to eventually use this chipset across all their devices, not just the MacBook, Mac Mini, and iMac’s. According to Nikkei, Apple is aiming to completely replace Intel’s chip offerings over the next two years with its own in an effort to further differentiate its products from the competition.
