A month after Apple Inc. announced a new lineup of M1-powered devices, including a new iMac, iPad Pro and Apple TV, reports have already emerged on what the company may be working on next.

According to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, Apple is preparing to release several new Mac laptops and desktops with faster processors, new designs and improved connectivity to external devices as part of a push to replace Intel Corp. chips.

The new devices are said to include a broad range of Macs, including the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac Pro, iMac and Mac mini.

According to people familiar with the matter, the new MacBook Pros could debut as early as summer, followed by a revamped MacBook Air, a new low-end MacBook Pro and an all-new Mac Pro. Apple is also said to be working on a higher-end Mac mini and a larger iMac. Notably, the devices will include an in-house designed processor that will “greatly outpace the performance and capabilities of Apple’s current M1 chips.” Presumably, the new chip will be called the M2.

Apple plans on two new MacBook Pros, a 14-inch and a 16-inch model with a redesigned chassis, magnetic MagSafe charger and additional ports, including the return of an HDMI port and SD card slot that had been removed in previous models.

The interest in bringing to market new Mac devices comes as the division has seen strong growth after years of stagnation in which Apple focused more on its iPhone range. In the company’s second quarter ended March 27, Mac revenue jumped 70% from a year ago, to $9.1 billion.

Overall personal computer shipments started to surge last year thanks to an increase in remote working driven by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and they haven’t slowed down since. Gartner Inc. reported in April that PC shipments grew 32% in the first quarter to record the fastest year-over-year growth since it began tracking the PC market in 2000.

According to data from Gartner, Apple currently sits in fourth place in the market, having shipped an estimated 5.57 million units in the quarter for an 8% market share. That was up from 3.75 million units in the first quarter of 2020. With a push to bring new devices to market, Apple believes there are further growth opportunities.

Image: Apple