If you’ve been waiting on new versions of the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro with Apple’s newest processors inside, you may have to wait a bit longer. A new supply chain report today indicates that MacBook Pro models with the M2 Pro and M2 Max chips might have been delayed yet again…
New MacBook Pros expected soon… but not yet
Apple unveiled its redesigned MacBook Pro lineup in late 2021, with M1 Pro and M1 Max chips inside. After the announcement of the M2 chip in June of 2022, rumors indicated that the MacBook Pro models would be updated with their respective M2 chips sometime in the fall.
This ultimately didn’t come to fruition, with Apple opting to delay the new MacBook Pro models to sometime in early 2023.
Now, DigiTimes reports that Apple may have delayed the launch of these machines even further. While the report stops short of giving any specific timeline for a release, it says the new MacBook Pro updates have likely been “delayed once again.”
Apple was widely expected to release the new MacBook Pros sometime around March. If today’s report is to be believed, however, we are likely going to have to wait until WWDC in June at the earliest. At that point, Apple will also be readying its first M3 Macs as well.
As part of the same report, DigiTimes notes that MacBook shipments are expected to take a big hit this quarter. Supply chain sources say Apple is preparing for a 40% to 50% drop in MacBook shipments for Q1 compared to Q4 2022. While a decline in shipments is to be expected, given that Q4 2022 was the lucrative holiday quarter, Apple usually sees a drop of between 10% and 20%.
9to5Mac’s Take
If the outlook described by DigiTimes turns out to be correct, it will be interesting to see how Apple responds. That’s a pretty big drop in Mac sales, even sequentially going from the holiday quarter to a regular quarter.
The MacBook Pro delays are highly unlikely to be the primary cause of a significant drop in shipments. The reality is that Apple is still feeling the effects of many consumers buying new Macs sooner than anticipated due to the pandemic and in the early days of the Apple SIlicon transition. There are also some broader macroeconomic factors that could impact Mac buying power this quarter.
Interestingly, Apple warned of a “substantial drop” in Mac revenue that would impact the holiday quarter. Today’s report from DigiTimes suggests that this decline will continue into Q1 2023.
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