Apple starts testing of high-end Macs with the new M2 Max processor

Apple is expected to unveil a slew of new products at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in the coming days, and two of them may be new Mac desktops. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the tech giant is testing two high-end Macs with the new M2 Max processor and the company’s yet-to-be-announced M2 Ultra chip.

If you remember, Apple first introduced the M2 Max for the 14″ and 16″ MacBook Pro laptops, as well as the Mac mini earlier this year. The desktop computer with the chip is said to have 8 high performance cores, 4 efficiency cores and 30 graphics cores. It also has 96GB of RAM and runs macOS 13.4, the company’s latest PC software.

Meanwhile, the unannounced M2 Ultra chip is said to be the more powerful option of the two, with twice as many processing cores. Specifically, the chip is expected to have 16 high performance, 8 efficiency and 60 graphics cores, although Bloomberg says the company will offer a more powerful version with 76 graphics cores. Apple is said to be testing a PC with the M2 Ultra in configurations with 64GB, 128GB and 192GB of memory.

Gurman also says that the M2 Ultra was originally designed for future versions of the Mac Pro, which still use Intel processors. But Mac pros are currently testing the codenames Mac 14.8, while the new high-end desktops with the M2 Max and M2 Ultra chipsets are codenamed Mac 14.13 and Mac 14.14. Presumably, this means they will be completely differentdesktops, possibly new models of the Mac Studio, which are currently M1 Max or M1 Ultra.

In addition to its high-end desktops, Apple may also launch new laptops at WWDC. Some of the possibilities include a 15-inch MacBook Air powered by a “flat” processor with the tech giant’s current M2 chip, as well as a cheaper version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro.