The MacBook we all thought was dead might be getting a 2023 update

While Apple has already released several new Macs in 2023, including a Mac mini and 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros with M2 Pro and M2 Max processors, there are several new models on the way, including a surprising update to the 13-inch MacBook Pro.

As Mark Gurman reports, Apple has several Macs in the works for the rest of 2023, with nearly every Mac Apple makes due for a refresh:

• 13-inch MacBook Air
• 24-inch iMac
• Mac Pro
• 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro

And perhaps most surprising, the 13-inch MacBook Pro is also due for an update, according to Gurman. Apple updated the 13-inch MacBook Pro at WWDC 2022 with an M2 processor but kept the same design despite introducing a redesigned MacBook Air and larger MacBook Pro.

Gurman doesn’t state whether Apple will redesign the 13-inch MacBook Pro, but it seems unlikely. Apple already has a 13-inch MacBook Air and a 14-inch MacBook Pro, so another model that looks similar would only add confusion and redundancy to the lineup.

In fact, for the same reasons, it’s surprising that Apple would update the 13-inch MacBook Pro at all. It’s the only model to use Apple’s older laptop design with a Touch Bar instead of a function row, and doesn’t have a Liquid Retina display or 1080p FaceTime camera. Yet it still starts at $1,299, $100 more than the entry-level M2 MacBook Air.

Presumably, the new 13-inch MacBook Pro would get an M3 processor, but the timing of that chip is unclear. Gurman says the next-gen chip isn’t ready for WWDC 2023, which likely means a late fall or early 2024 unveiling.