Kuo sees revamped MacBook Pros with HDMI and SD card ports looming on the horizon

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted that upcoming updates to Apple’s MacBook Pro notebook line will feature an HDMI port alongside an SD card slot. He hasn’t said when the notebooks might drop beyond a tentative second half of 2021 timeframe.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

  • An HDMI port will let you connect the notebook to a TV.
  • An SD card slot will let you insert memory cards from digital cameras.
  • The ports will cancel the need for bulky USB-C adapters.
  • MagSafe charging may also make a comeback on Mac notebooks.
  • The TouchBar should be a goner, however.
  • Don’t expect built-in 5G networking either.

A photography showing the right side of the late-2013 MacBook Pro notebook with an HDMI port, an SD card slot and a USB port

MagSafe is making a comeback, too!

“We predict that Apple’s two new MacBook Pro models in 2H21 will have several significant design and specification changes,” he said in a note seen by MacRumors. ”Some of the practical changes for users are equipping with the SD card reader and HDMI port.” He’s likely referring to an update to the existing 16-inch model along with a rumored new 14-inch one.

Both models should feature an “all-new design form factor.”

The note corroborates a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who said the next MacBook Pro would bring back an SD card slot to appease Apple’s pro user base. Gurman added in another report that an upcoming MacBook Air redesign would bring back MagSafe charging.

Although Gurman doesn’t mention this, it’s likely that MagSafe will be rolled out across Apple’s entire notebook lineup rather than be limited to the MacBook Air models. He also claims that the much-maligned Touch Bar is going to be dropped from Apple’s 2021 MacBook Pro lineup.