We ’ve last made it into 2024 , and if you ’re of the Apple persuasion , it feels like there ’s a huge amount to expect forward to this year . Yet that ’s not true for everything Apple make — in fact , this could be an incredibly quiet 12 months for the Mac .
I late wrote about how 2024 is going to bepacked with major dismissal from Apple , yet among all the goodies that will be coming our elbow room this year , there ’s only one Mac announcement that I ’d believe noted for fans of Apple ’s computers . And even then , I ’m talking about theMacBook Air getting the M3 chip , something the MacBook Pro got back in 2023 .
So what gives ? Why is 2024 likely to be such a wearisome year for Mac user ? And is there really nothing on the horizon to look forward to in the world of Apple computer science ?
The Vision Pro effect
basically , this all boils down to one vast new mathematical product : theVision Pro . Apple ’s high - powered ( and high up - priced ) headset is doubtlessly the party ’s main focus , and it ’s been siphoning resources away from everything else , the Mac include . You have to look at the lackluster software passing that were iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma to see that .
With the Vision Pro ’s dismissal datejust around the niche — tardy January or former February are the current leading stake — Apple has been pouring its resource into the headset in a major way . paper have indicatedthat the company has moved engineers away from a whole kitchen range of other intersection and onto the Vision Pro over the past class or so , and without mass to work on new feature of speech , everything else inescapably stomach .
Do n’t get me wrong , I ’m really look forrad to checking out the Vision Pro , but I ’ll probably be watching from the pursuit rather than snapping up a $ 3,500 headset myself . I ’d much rather get some solid upgrades to products I use every twenty-four hour period , and I do n’t recollect I ’m alone there . I understand why Apple is going nether region - for - leather on the Vision Pro — it ’s go to be the big new Apple equipment in long time — but that single - minded concentration is having a knock - on gist on things I wish about a whole lot more .
Missing in action
Rumors have suggested Apple has a lot up its sleeve when it comes to the Mac — it ’s just that most of it is n’t number this twelvemonth .
Look at the M4 bit , for example . This could bring massive changes to the Mac batting order , but it ’s almost ensure to arrive in 2025 rather than 2024 . Apple has n’t even finished deploying its M3 series of chips — the MacBook Air isstill on the M2 , while the M3 Ultra is nowhere to be seen — never mind the M4 . And speaking of the M3 Ultra , I would n’t be surprised if this also sneak to next year , given how long it took for the M2 Ultra to set in motion after the M2 .
While Apple release anew iMac in 2023 , the long - rumorediMac Prois believably destined for 2025 at the earliest . Mark Gurman – one of the most reliable Apple leakers around – does n’t expect to see it this twelvemonth .
Even the little things seem to be heading for a postponement . Multiple reports have suggested Apple will flip out the mini - LED display in the MacBook Pro and replace them with OLED panel , but that still seems to be some mode off . For example , display industry expert Ross Young believe we could waituntil 2026 or 2027for the tech .
All that to say , most of the major update we ’ve been anticipating for months are likely to puff out beyond 2024 . That ’s unsatisfying , but with the Vision Pro looming on the horizon , I ca n’t say I ’m surprised .
Glimmers of hope
We know it wo n’t be an entirely empty 12 months for the Mac because every twelvemonth Apple releases a new version of macOS . I have no idea what ’s plan for 2024 ’s edition , but hopefully , there will be something to write home about when Apple debuts it in June . That itself is something to look forrader to .
operate back to Mac hardware , there are a couple of fresh devices that might see the light of day presently . Apple first launched theMac Studioin March 2022 , then followed it up in June 2023 with an M2 Ultra edition . That roughly 15 - month cadence intend we could see another variant with the M3 Ultra towards the oddment of 2024 .
Apple might also find a way to surprise us this class . For object lesson , theMac minihad to wait three years between its M1 and M2 variant , with the latest variation coming in June 2023 . But who ’s to say Apple wo n’t conflate thing up and shorten the time between handout with a new rendering this year ?
I do n’t think there will be absolutely nothing deserving yell about this year when it comes to the Mac . If nothing else , we ’ll get a new version of macOS and probably a MacBook Air climb , and for some multitude , that will be enough . But I ca n’t shake the uneasy feeling that this is going to be a fairly quiet 12 month — and maybe my wallet will thank me for that .
