The rumors have been floating around for months with word that Apple is prepping its follow-up to last year's MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16. But beyond that, there really hasn't been too much information about the products for the most part. But that all changes today as a new report states that Apple has finally placed an order with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) for its next-generation processors for its upcoming MacBook Pro models.

According to Commercial Times, by way of Wccftech, the next generation of Apple silicon will rely on a 3nm process and will arrive to consumers as the M2 Pro and M2 Max. The source stated that the upcoming chips are codenamed Rhodes Chop and Rhodes 1C, with the former featuring a 10-core CPU and a 20-core GPU and the latter having a 12-core CPU and 38-core GPU. While these should be quite powerful, we know that Apple is also working on variants of the M2 chip dubbed the M2 Ultra and an M2 "Extreme." This isn't our first time hearing about these SoCs, as we reported virtually the same information back in June. But there is a new tidbit here, as we now know that the M2 Ultra has the codename, being dubbed the Rhodes 2C and will apparently offer twice the power of the M2 Max.

As for the M2 Extreme, we reported yesterday that the new chip is currently being tested and could arrive in two versions, a 24-core CPU with a 76-core GPU and a 48-core CPU with a 152-core GPU. Both of these will be quite impressive if they come to market and will no doubt come head and shoulders above the competition. Of course, this new report is just the beginning, as there is no known date as to when the new laptops will be announced. But here's to hoping that they will arrive soon.

Source: Commercial Times

Via: Wccftech