The next Macbook Pro
Here are the major features that have been rumoured for the next Macbook Pro. Roman Loyola reports
With the continuation of the Apple silicon roll-out, the Macbook Pro is in line for some major changes. The company will likely take the opportunity of the new models based on Apple silicon to introduce new designs, features and refinements.
SIZES, DESIGN AND COLOURS
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple will release a “redesigned” Macbook Pro this summer. It will be available in 14- and 16in models; Gurman did not state if the current 13in M1 Macbook Pro will undergo any design changes, though IOS
developer Dylandkt tweeted in January that the “upcoming Macbook Pro models may not feature a logo on the bottom bezel”.
Analyst Ming Chi-kuo said in a research note (via Macrumors) that the laptop will see a redesign in 2021. In an earlier note from May 2020 (via Macrumors), Kuo said that Apple is working on a 14in Macbook Pro – essentially, a transformation of the higher-end 13in models, similar to what happened when Apple released the 16in Macbook Pro to replace the 15in models. It’s unclear if the lowerend 13in Macbook Pro would remain in the line-up if a 14in version is revealed.
Jon Prosser of Front Page Tech reports that Apple will release a Macbook Air or a reintroduction of the Macbook in colour offerings and a white bezel similar to those of the new 24in imac. If Apple is using colours in its consumer-level products, it’s possible that Apple sticks with the Space Grey and silver options for the higher-end, which includes the Macbook Pro. And according to a tweet by previously accurate Dylandkt, the Macbook Pro branding might be removed.
DISPLAY
In March 2020, analyst Ming Chi-kuo released a note reporting on Apple’s use of mini-leds in new products, including the 2021 versions of the 14in and 16in Macbook Pro. Apple already launched its first mini-led screen in the 12.9in ipad Pro, so it’s clear Apple is already working on the tech. While an earlier report from Digitimes suggested that Apple might delay the launch of mini-led to 2022, Mingchi Kuo reported in July that Apple is preparing production of the display tech for a launch in late 2021.
MINI-LED is a backlighting technology for displays, but several more LEDS are used than what is currently implemented. This results in better control of the backlight, better image contrast, and greater dynamic range. If Apple’s description of the ipad Pro is any indication, the new display will deliver “true-to-life detail with a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio … (and) breathtaking 1000 nits of full-screen brightness and 1600 nits of peak brightness”.
MAGSAFE AND PORTS
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that the Macbook Pro that will be released next will have a Magsafe charger, an SD card slot, an HDMI port and “more Thunderbolt ports” (the current 13in Macbook Pro has two Thunderbolt/usb 4 ports; the
current Intel-based 16in Macbook Pro has four Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports.)
Analyst Ming Chi-kuo (via Macrumors) said in a research note that Magsafe will be on the new 14and 16in Macbook Pro. Introduced in Mac laptops in 2006, Magsafe was a magnetic power adapter connector that could easily disconnect from the laptop using non-axial force – tugs from angles other than straight away. Its implementation meant that if the laptop was plugged in and for whatever reason, the cable was tripped over or pulled, the connection would break and the laptop would be spared from flying off the work surface. Magsafe was a separate, dedicated plug for power, however, and disappeared when Apple switched to USB-C connectors in
2016. The USB-C connectors support battery charging but do not have a breakaway connector.
Apple has transitioned to Thunderbolt/usb 4 ports in its M1 Macs, and Apple will continue with this in upcoming models.
FRONT CAMERA
The Macbook Pro has had an underwhelming 720p Facetime HD camera for about a decade, but the most frustrating feature on Apple’s high-end laptop might be getting a long-overdue update. According to @ dylandkt on Twitter, the Macbook Pro “will actually be getting an updated improved 1080p webcam for the next model”, which will presumably be the same hardware in the 24in imac. Apple upgraded the webcam in its all-in-one with a 1080p Facetime HD camera with an M1 image signal processor and
we found it to be a huge upgrade over the 720p model.
END OF THE TOUCH BAR
The Touch Bar is a polarizing feature of the higher-end Macbook Pro models – those who dislike it are expressive about it, while people who like it don’t really say much (at least it seems that way). In a January 2021 note, analyst Ming-chi Kuo said that the OLED Touch Bar will be replaced by function keys. In July, an analyst at Display Supply Chain Consultants seemingly confirmed that report, telling investors that Apple is planning to “cancel the Touch Bar” in the future. Apple introduced the Touch
Bar in 2016 to replace the function keys with “a brilliant, Retina-quality Multi-touch display”, but it has been a decisive feature.
PROCESSOR
AND OTHER SPECS
A Twitter rumour has seemingly leaked small but significant details about the next Macbook Pro. IOS developer Dylandkt – who previously predicted the M1 in the imac – claims the Macbook’s chip will be branded as the M1X and bring “more thunderbolt channels, more CPU cores, more GPU cores, and greater power draw”. The speculation for Apple silicon in the higher-end Macbook Pro models is that Apple will use this opportunity to reveal the next in line in the M-series. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple’s “redesigned” 14- and
16in Macbook Pro will have Apple’s system on a chip that features a 10core CPU (eight performance cores and two efficiency cores), 16 or 32 graphics core options, a maximum of 64GB of memory, and an “improved Neural Engine”.
He added that it’s possible that at the end of 2021, the 13in Macbook Pro will have a new System on a Chip that replaces the M1. The new SOC will be faster but have eight CPU cores (four performance cores, four efficiency cores) like the M1. The graphics cores will increase from eight to ten. The chip will reportedly be called the M1X, as evidenced by several rumours and Apple’s own tags on the Youtube video for its WWDC keynote.
Apple has been rumoured to be including 5G and Face ID support in its laptops, but Gurman reported that those features do not appear
“to be coming soon”.
PRICE AND RELEASE
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will release the new
14- and 16in Macbook Pro with Apple silicon this summer. We had originally hoped that the new machines would arrive at WWDC, but the event has come and gone without a release. Digitimes, which has a spotty track record for rumours but is more accurate when it comes to shipping, says that “volume production of the 14in Macbook Pro is likely to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021, and the 16in model will start in the first quarter of 2022”.
However, sources recently told the publication that shipments will kick off in the third quarter, so an autumn launch is likely, possibly around the time the 13in Macbook Pro launched last year. More recently, Twitter leaker Dylan also said new Macbooks will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the Economic Daily News, which has been a reliable source of supply chain information in China, said Apple only began to increase its manufacturing capacity in late June. Finally,
Ming-chi Kuo reported in July that production for the new Macbook Pro would begin in the third quarter.
Prices have not been leaked but based on prior Apple silicon launches, the 16in model will likely still start at £2,399, with the 14in Macbook Pro possibly taking the place of the £1,799 13in Macbook Pro. It is not clear if the current 13in M1 Macbook Pro will remain in the line-up.