If you’re a Mac fan, 2022 might have left you a little disappointed. That’s because Apple’s Mac roster was surprisingly light last year, with far fewer Macs released than we expected. The good news is that means we should get plenty more Macs in 2023, starting with the Spring event coming up soon. But what exactly can we hope to see?
In this guide, we’ve rounded up every Mac we expect Apple will launch in 2023. From desktop powerhouses to thin and light laptops, there could be something for everyone over the next 12 months.
Apple silicon Mac Pro
While almost every Mac has at least one model with an Apple silicon chip, there’s one device that hasn’t yet made the transition: the Mac Pro. Perhaps Apple has needed more time to perfect a chip that can meet the demands of pro users. Now, it seems the company is almost ready to unveil its high-end computing workhorse.
The rumored Mac Pro has had a bit of a bumpy road, though. First, we learned that the super-powerful chip Apple was developing for the Mac Pro — the M2 Extreme — had apparently been abandoned, with Apple settling for the lesser M2 Ultra. Then came the news that the next Mac Pro would have neither a new design nor user-upgradable memory.
That’s all disappointing news, so we’ll have to see if the first Apple silicon Mac Pro will be appealing to the demanding users it is aimed at. The device is expected at a spring event in the coming months, so we shouldn’t have long to find out.
14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro
Over the years, Apple has gotten into the habit of releasing new MacBook Pro models in the fall. That didn’t happen in 2022 (for the first time since 2000, in fact), meaning Apple’s pro-level laptops are currently overdue.
On the plus side, new MacBook Pros are coming in 2023 — but we won’t see any ground-shaking changes. The devices are expected to get new chips, specifically the M2 Pro and M2 Max, which will be modest upgrades from the current M1 Pro and M1 Max. Other than that, we don’t believe there will be many other changes, with the chassis and display likely remaining the same.
Right now, these MacBook Pro models are slated for Apple’s rumored spring event. Given historical trends, that will likely fall in either March or April.
15-inch MacBook Air
Despite the MacBook Air being 15 years old, Apple has never strayed from its 11-inch and 13-inch sizes. If the rumors are correct, however, that could all change later this year.
Numerous sources have claimed that not only is Apple working on a larger 15-inch MacBook Air but that it could launch at some point in 2023. That would give MacBook Air fans a second size to choose from for the first time since the 11-inch model was ditched in 2016.
Talking specifics, rumors allege the 15-inch MacBook Air will get a 15.5-inch display. Other than that, it will probably be a scaled-up version of the 13-inch MacBook Air. OLED displays are apparently in the works, but won’t be ready until 2024 at the earliest.
Next-generation Mac Mini
Aside from the Mac Pro, there’s one other Mac that still comes with an Intel chip: the Mac Mini. While this computer does offer Apple silicon models, they’re still using the last-gen M1 chips. That all means the Mac Mini range is due for an upgrade.
That upgrade is expected to come at Apple’s spring event, where the Mac Mini will get M2 chips and perhaps even an M2 Pro option. That should mean we finally see the discontinuation of the Intel Mac Mini, a zombie computer powered by a long-outdated processor.
There are conflicting rumors about what other changes we should expect in the next Mac Mini. Both journalist Mark Gurman and leaker Jon Prosser have claimed the device will feature an updated design and more ports. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, has asserted the Mac Mini will probably use the same design as the current model. We’ll probably find out at the spring event, so watch this space.
iMac Pro
Almost ever since the iMac Pro was discontinued in 2021, there have been rumors that Apple is working on a successor. Now, it seems the company could be nearly ready to reveal the computer to the world, with a release date falling somewhere in the latter stages of 2023.
Right now, it’s not clear whether the device will be branded as an iMac Pro or simply a larger iMac. If it’s the former, expect “pro” design choices (think silver and space gray colors), while the latter would probably adopt the bright colors of the current 24-inch iMac.
Either way, we’re expecting the large iMac will adopt chips in the M3 generation, most likely the M3 Pro and M3 Max. It could also come with a high-end screen, perhaps like the one found in Apple’s Pro Display XDR.
24-inch iMac
Just as the iMac Pro could be staging a comeback, the 24-inch iMac is also due for an update. The current model was released in the spring of 2021, and two years is about the right time for a new version.
Like the iMac Pro, we can expect the next iMac to be outfitted with M3-generation chips, although in this case, we’re expecting the M3 and nothing more advanced like the M3 Pro. It will probably continue with the same colorful designs as the existing model.
Little else is known about the next iMac at this point, which suggests the update will probably be fairly minor, and perhaps limited to just the chip upgrade. Rumors point to an announcement date of late 2023, so we’ve probably got a little while to wait yet.
What about the 13-inch MacBook Pro?
The 13-inch MacBook Pro sticks out like a sore thumb in Apple’s Mac lineup and is a strong contender to be Apple’s worst MacBook. It has similar performance and fewer ports compared to the M2 MacBook Air, yet it costs more. Could we see a new version in 2023?
That seems unlikely, given that the 13-inch MacBook Pro was last updated at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2022. We doubt Apple will bring out a new version just a year after the latest model was released.
Will Apple drop it from the Mac roster instead, then? That’s uncertain at the moment. While we’d love Apple to do this and streamline its Mac offerings, that would require the company to drop the price of the 14-inch MacBook Pro so that it can sell at least one affordable MacBook Pro. That feels unlikely, so the 13-inch model is likely to persist into 2023 — even though we’d rather it didn’t.
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