Upcoming MacBook Pros could pack ‘high-bandwidth, high-speed’ RAM

Apple’s next-generation 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M2 Pro and M2 Max chips will be equipped with “very high-bandwidth, high-speed RAM,” according to information shared by MacRumors Forums member Amethyst.

The current 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models are equipped with LPDDR5 RAM from Samsung, with the M1 Pro chip providing up to 200 GB/s of memory bandwidth and the M1 Max chip topping out at 400 GB/s. As noted by MacRumors, on a speculative basis, it is possible that the next MacBook Pro models could be equipped with Samsung’s latest LPDDR5X RAM for up to 33% increased memory bandwidth with up to 20% less power consumption. This would result in up to 300 GB/s memory bandwidth for the M2 Pro and up to 600 GB/s for the M2 Max.

Besides the processor upgrades, the laptops aren’t expected to feature any major redesign features. In fact, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo tweets that Apple has cut shipment forecasts for new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro updates by 20-30% before mass production due to lower than expected demand.

\“The main upgrade of the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros is only the adoption of new processors,” he says. ”The limited new selling points may also result in lower-than-expected demand.”

Previously, Kuo said that Apple manufacturing partners will start mass production of new 14-inch MacBook Pro, 16-inch MacBook Pro, and iPad Pro models in the fourth quarter of the year, and all of the devices will likely remain equipped with 5nm chips.

Released in October 2021, current MacBook Pro models sport 5nm M1 Pro and M1 Max processors. Upcoming models will almost certainly pack M2 Pro and M2 Max chips, which some reports have said will be the first 3nm Apple Silicon processors.