Apple’s next Mac notebook won’t just mark a return to the more reliable scissor mechanism keyboards, but also squeeze a bigger LCD-based screen measuring sixteen inches diagonally into a similarly-sized enclosure like the company’s 15-inch MacBook Pro model.
According to DigiTimes, a hit-and-miss Taiwanese trade publication, the Cupertino tech giant is set to release a new MacBook Pro model in September of this year (more on that timing a bit later). The report paints the upcoming computer as featuring “ultra-narrow bezels” in order to accommodate a 16-inch screen, “expanded from the original 15-inch one”.
Taiwan’s Quanta Computer is expected to be the sole contract producer for the new machine, which, again, will have unibody engineering and enclosure similar to the current MacBook Pros.
According to Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, the new sixteen-inch notebook featuring a 3072 × 1920 Retina display will release alongside the refreshed MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models in October of this year. I believe this is the correct release date because Apple in years past unveiled major Mac notebook refreshes at press events traditionally held in October.
On the other hand, because this is a brand-new notebook model from Apple that will introduce design changes, the company may want to move up the launch to September. In that case, could the new machine be presented alongside new iPhones at the same press event in September or at its own event, also in September? DigiTimes tends to be reliable in terms of supply chain-based reporting but their timelines tend to be off mark, so keep that in mind.
The notebook is believed to start at around $3,000 and be positioned between the iMac and iMac Pro all-in-ones as an option for customers that have professional needs, according to reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, for those asking. It definitely won’t be the world’s first notebook with a 16-inch screen featuring thin bezels. That honor belongs to Huawei’s MacBookPro lookalike, called MagicBook Pro, which is billed as the world’s 16.1-inch fullscreen laptop.
At any rate, the sixteen-inch MacBook Pro should help reposition Apple as a player in the niche market for large-sized laptops that it used to almost completely dominate in the past with the beloved 17-inch MacBook Pro that got discontinued seven years ago. Conventional wisdom has it that a $3,000 Mac laptop with a 16-inch display and fast hardware would cater to gamers and creative pros who need something between the regular iMac line and iMac Pro.
Who’s looking forward to the new Mac notebook from Apple?
Chime in with your thoughts in the comments down below.