M1 chip – BIG

Apple customers in the United States can now purchase parts and tools to repair their MacBook Air and MacBook Pro notebooks with M1 chips at home.

Users can access several parts in the Self Service Repair Store, including display, trackpad and top case with battery.

In a news release, Apple says each part it sells is genuine and receives testing to ensure quality, safety and reliability. The company says it will accept used parts to be refurbished and recycled, and in most cases, offer customer credits to be used towards their purchase.

Apple is also renting out tool kits for $49 for those who don’t want to purchase their own set of Apple tools. The company says the tools “help provide the best repairs.” The company will ship the kit out for one week.

Apple’s self-repair program initially launched in November 2021 and focused on the iPhone 12 and 13. Apple says it will add more Mac models to the program this year.

While the program isn’t available in Canada at this time, that will likely change down the road. Apple says it will expand the repair program to other countries, beginning in Europe. However, the company didn’t provide any timelines.

Source: Apple

Apple’s debut of its in-house M1 chip during November 2020 was the first milestone in Apple’s transition away from Intel reliance. Apple had planned a two-year period to pave the road for the company to complete its transition. Now, a new report claims WWDC 2022 will see the completion of this transition period.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is developing a brand new Mac Pro, a new Mac mini, and an iMac Pro with a large screen. All three new devices are said to be backed by Apple silicon. These will prove to be the defacto finish line in the company’s plan. As explained in Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter (seen by 9to5Mac), the three devices may be unveiled during the first half of 2022.

“The company has a bevy of new pro Macs in the works based on the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips that are already inside the MacBook Pro. That includes a smaller Mac Pro with up to 40 CPU cores and 128 graphics cores, a new Mac mini and a large-screened iMac Pro. I’d expect Apple to finish its transition to its own silicon from Intel chips as early as June at WWDC 2022,” Gurman wrote.

He also discusses the next-generation chip from Apple. Tentatively dubbed the ‘M2’ chip, it’s said that while expected in 2022, it won’t offer any major performance improvements but will feature “the same overall CPU core count”. Apple’s M1 offers four high-performance cores and four energy-efficient cores. Though, Gurman believes the M2 will feature a modestly improved GPU. The differences between the M1 and M2 are said to be comparable to the improvements made between Apple’s annual iPhone upgrades.

The report also backs up previous claims that Apple is working on a major refresh to its MacBook Air. It’s believed that the new device will sport the M2 chip over the M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon. It’s also expected that the new MacBook Air will feature the “biggest redesign in the product’s history.”

Apple’s breakup with Intel has long been openly discussed by the iPhone maker. Rather than rely on Intel to make meaningful innovations, Apple has taken ownership over the silicon in its own devices. So far, it’s been met with positive reception. Though, Apple silicon is still in its infancy. It remains to be seen if the M2 can impress next year.

Imag credit: Apple

Source: 9To5Mac