Apple plans to launch the newly redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro at WWDC 2021 next week, according to a market analysis firm. The company would thus launch two of the most anticipated devices by users, which would complete the entire range of laptops with Apple Silicon. A move that would greatly accelerate plans to complete the transition to the new architecture.
14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro: Intel’s last redoubt in notebooks
MacRumors has had access to a note sent to investors prepared by the firm Wedbush. In it, the firm says that in addition to the expected presentation of new operating systems such as iOS 15, “several surprises” await us. And among them are the new MacBook Pro, an extreme that we also saw in previous rumors.
However, it also apparently states that they will have an M1 processor, which does not fit with the type of equipment they would replace. The MacBook Pros currently on sale still have models with Intel processors. The top end of the 13-inch model as well as all the 16-inch models have Intel chips.
An M1 Apple Silicon chip in its current configuration has 8 CPU cores and 8 GPU cores at most. Something already present in the 13-inch MacBook Pro released last year, as well as the new iMac 2021. To give more power to the high end of these “Pro” computers, a different chip seems inevitable.
An M1X with more graphics power or, directly, a successor with the name M2 would be the most sensible candidates for these two new machines. In any case, an M1 chip as we know it now would not be sufficient for what is expected for both MacBook Pros.
A redesigned MacBook Pro from top to bottom
At the end of 2019, Apple launched the 16-inch MacBook Pro. Its new design did not make it to the smaller model, where the screen should be larger and incorporate numerous technologies from its bigger brother. Now that rumors about two new models are consolidated, everything fits.
The 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro will incorporate several improvements according to rumors. Among them stand out:
- Flat design following in the wake of the iPad Pro, iPhone 12, and new iMac.
- Four USB-C ports, two on each side, HDMI, SD card reader, and MagSafe charging.
- 14- and 16-inch displays, with reduced bezels.
- M1X or M2 processor with the new thermal cooling system.
- Farewell to the Touch Bar and new colors.
The way these two new devices are proposed, they are generating a lot of expectations among users. WWDC is not a usual time for the presentation of new hardware (in fact, another rumor places them in the fall), but it is not out of the question. Wedbush has on other occasions disclosed expectations about new products with an erratic track record in this regard, so we should take their information with caution.
