Rumours abound through leaks that Apple’s upcoming Mac Pro won’t be embracing the anticipated M2 processor yet, instead sticking to the M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon.

But while that may seem a blow to any fan eager to embrace the next version of Apple’s most powerful desktop computer, the news isn’t all negative.

Apple’s M2 transition is expected to come by the end of the year, though the next Mac Pro will be “a further extension of the M1 beyond the cores of the M1 Max”, which will pack a 20-core chip called the M1 Max Duo, which fuses two M1 Max chips together and features a 20-core CPU, a 64-core GPU and up to 128GB of RAM.

Currently, the beefiest MacBook Pro has an M1 Max chip with 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU and up to 64GB of RAM.

As for the all-powerful M2, it’s expected the next McBook Air will be the first to house it, to go with a redesign that will bring a mini-LED display along for the ride.

The M2s are rumoured to be made on TSMC’s 4nm process node, with the smaller size allowing Apple to increase performance without impacting battery efficiency.

Then again, if that all doesn’t get you excited enough, there’s already talk of an M3 chip, to be made on a 3nm node to fit four dies of up to 40 cores.