Apple Inc is ramping up testing of fresh Macs with processors on a par with the M2 chip, making headway on key new machines that could help reverse a sales decline.
The Mac maker has begun testing the new machines with third-party apps from the App Store to validate their compatibility, according to developer logs shared with Bloomberg News.
That is a necessary step in the run-up to the launch of a new device.
Photo: AFP
Apple is counting on the new machines to entice shoppers after the worst Mac slump since the dot-com bust in 2000.
Shipments plunged more than 40 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to International Data Corp, making the Mac a laggard even in an industry suffering a sharp downturn across the board.
Apple had telegraphed that the quarter would be weak, but it would not provide its actual results for the period until May 4.
Against that backdrop, the new Macs would be a welcome arrival.
The test logs indicate Apple is readying a laptop with processor specifications similar to current models, but with a larger, higher-resolution display.
This model is likely to be the 15-inch MacBook Air that Apple has been planning to introduce this year.
A spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment.
The chip in the new laptop has eight main processing cores and 10 graphics cores, just like the M2. The computer also includes 8 gigabytes of memory, in line with the existing MacBook Air.
The CPU, or main computing processor, continues to be split up between four high-performance cores and four efficiency cores. The Macs in testing are running macOS 14, the version of the Mac operating system that Apple is slated to announce on June 5 at its Worldwide Developers Conference.
Bigger changes to the Mac would come later with the release of an M3 chip, which would represent a transition to a 3-nanometer production process from the current 5-nanometer standard.
The newer chip technology — produced by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) — allows for improved performance and more efficiency. Apple is to use a similar technology in this year’s new iPhones.
Beyond the larger MacBook Air, the company is working on an update to the 13-inch Air model, the 24-inch iMac and the entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro. The first Mac Pro using computer’s homegrown chips — known as Apple Silicon — is also in development, but has faced delays and specification changes.
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