Oliver Haslam on December 8, 2020, 1:21 am

Bloomberg: M1 Is Only The Start With Up To 32-Core CPUs For iMac, MacBook Pro, Mac Pro Chips Coming Next Year

Apple’s M1 is already proving more than capable of beating out Intel’s big dogs but things are going to get even more crazy next year, according to Bloomberg. In a new report today, Mark Gurman says that Apple is already working on chips that will power new MacBook Pro, iMac, and even Mac Pro models next year.

Citing unnamed people familiar with Apple’s CPU roadmap, the report says that we can expect multiple new machines as soon as 2021 – including a new Mac Pro to replace the current workstation.

Apple’s M1 chip was unveiled in a new entry-level MacBook Pro laptop, a refreshed Mac mini desktop and across the MacBook Air range. The company’s next series of chips, planned for release as early as the spring and later in the fall, are destined to be placed across upgraded versions of the MacBook Pro, both entry-level and high-end iMac desktops, and later a new Mac Pro workstation, the people said.

Those new chips are set to be hyper-fast, with up to 32 high performance cores packed into a single chip. It isn’t just about raw processing power, either, with Bloomberg saying that Apple is already hard at work getting its GPU game on point. So much so that we can expect GPUs with 32 cores. Apple is reportedly already testing such chips.

Apple engineers are also developing more ambitious graphics processors. Today’s M1 processors are offered with a custom Apple graphics engine that comes in either 7- or 8-core variations. For its future high-end laptops and mid-range desktops, Apple is testing 16-core and 32-core graphics parts.

Given the ability of the current M1 chips to outclass Intel and AMD in even the fanless MacBook Air, the potential for another game-changing Mac Pro is huge. Especially if Apple can provide a GPU that can compete with the best offered by AMD and Nvidia.