Well, it’s an interesting time in the Apple lifecycle, basically, the next generation chips are out, so the iPhone 14 Pro gets the new A16 in 4nm and the low-end MacBook Air and Pro 13 get the new M2 in 5nm. So the performance improvements are massive, about 20% for M1 to M2, but still pretty good. So if you look at the MacRumors Buyers guide, it’s an interesting picture with:
- Don’t buy the iPad Pro M1 as the M2 should be out in October. They are about to refresh the iPad Pro and the rumor is that they will have wireless charging. And there is a rumor of a larger 14″ size which is going to be great for paper reading.
- Don’t buy the M1 MacBook Pro 14 and 16, the M2 should be out by early 2023. This might slip, but that’s the current rumor is that the supply chain is holding these back. These are probably going to use the same 5nm advanced node as the M2 MacBook Air. But if you can wait the big shift will be with the move to 3nm processors in late 2023 or even 2024.
That being said, I would say the best buys in the lineup right now are:
- M2 MacBook Air. I have a MacBook Pro M1 Max and I have to say a 24GB M2 is just about all the processing power a normal user is going to need and it is fanless and so light.
- iPhone Pro 14. Given the way that iPhone prices are holding up, an iPhone 12 Pro Max for example is still worth $500 so moving to the iPhone Pro 14 is pretty easy if you want the very best camera performance with the new 48MP camera and low light performance improvements. And getting rid of the notch is really, really great too.
- Apple Watch Ultra. Ok, at $800, it is just $700 more than the stainless steel versions and it has the long battery life and screen that a power user/extreme athlete wannabe is going to love.
