Apple is predicted to release the new 14-inch and 16-inch M2 MacBook Pro notebooks powered by its own silicon in October or November of 2021, as per supply chain chatter.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS:
- Apple silicon-powered MacBook Pros may launch within two months
- People in the know have been expecting both 14″ and 16″ versions
- The rumored 14″ model would be a new entry in the lineup
- 13″ MacBook Pro was updated with Apple’s M1 chip in 2020
New MacBook Pros apparently coming later in the fall
After adding an Apple silicon variant of the 13-inch MacBook Pro to its notebook lineup in 2020, Apple is now poised to upgrade the higher-end models with its own chip.
Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes is reporting that Apple silicon-powered MacBook Pros will probably arrive a bit later in the fall, probably in October or November, due to component shortages and supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The ongoing chip shortages that are in varying degrees may cause the launch of Apple’s upcoming miniLED-backlit MacBook Pros to be scheduled in October or even November, instead of the usual September, according to industry sources.
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These machines are expected to become the first Mac systems to use mini-LED backlighting which made its debut on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Mini-LEDs provide an OLED-like experience thanks to an array of thousands of tiny LED lights providing benefits like higher contrast and brightness, as well as local dimming zones (with annoyances like blooming).
The first Mac notebooks with OLED panels are, however, not expected to launch until 2022.
Other rumored features of the upcoming MacBook Pros include a flat-edged appearance with magnetic charging, an SD memory card reader, the removal of the useless Touch Bar, an HDMI port and other perks. An earlier DigiTimes report said Apple would make “a rare investment” to expand production of mini-LED backlights for an “upcoming MacBook series”.
As for chip type, Apple currently offers the M1 chip across select Mac models. An enhanced version of that chip, dubbed M1X, was already mentioned as a possible candidate for the upcoming MacBook Pro refresh, but that chip could be instead destined for the next Mac mini.
The five-nanometre Apple M2 chip, which would file as second-generation Apple silicon, may have recently entered mass production in TSMC’s semiconductor plants in Taiwan. If true, the M2 could be the engine that will drive the next generation of Apple notebooks.
When will the first M2 MacBook Pros arrive?
The new MacBook Pros are widely expected to arrive in October or November of 2021. Now, Apple sometimes announces major new notebooks in October. That being said, however, the current pandemic and supply chain situation may have delayed those plans until November.
Apple is expected to stream two prerecorded product presentations, one this month and another one in October. A September event should serve as a launchpad for new iPhone and Apple Watch models. That leaves us with an October even as the most likely candidate for the MacBook Pro announcement.
But if the supply chain situation gets worse in the coming weeks, Apple could easily announce the upcoming 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros with a press release, or preview the notebooks in October, before it starts to take pre-orders the following month.