All new Macs that have been launched since last autumn have featured the same processor – the M1. The M1 is the first chip in the Apple Silicon family.

Now Nikkei reports that production on the successor to the M1 started in April. Nikkei’s sources indicate that the new chip could be ready by July.

According to the Asian newspaper, Apple’s chip partner TSMC started mass production on the M2 (which is what the processor is being tentatively referred to as).

The sources suggest it is likely to be around three months before the chip starts to make its way into Apple’s computers – indicating a summer release date for new Macs is possible. Assembly “could begin as early as July for use in MacBooks that are scheduled to go on sale in the second half of this year”, claims the report.

Nikkei does not have any details about what is new in the processor but there is a suggestion that the chips are destined for the new 14in MacBook Pro and 16in MacBook Pro.

Last June Apple said that it would take two years to move the entire Mac range from Intel to Apple Silicon.

For more information about the upcoming M1X or M2 chip read: Should I wait for the M1X or M2 Mac?