16.5″ MacBook Pro with All-New Design Isn’t Coming Until 2021
Credit: Viktor Kadar
Back in February, well-connected TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecasted that a refreshed and redesigned MacBook Pro with a 16- to 16.5-inch display was in development over in Cupertino, California.
But in a research note sent out to investors on Monday, Kuo has revised his predictions for Apple’s pro notebook lineup. The note was first spotted by Chinese-language Economic Daily News. (It’s worth noting that an English version of the report has yet to be released).
But, according to Kuo’s new note, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with an all-new design may be released in the first quarter of 2021. That is, obviously, quite a bit later than Kuo originally predicted.
The analyst’s previous MacBook Pro note was fairly vague, but today’s note adds a few more details about the upcoming rumored notebook.
2021 16.5″ MacBook Pro Rumors
Specifically, Kuo says the MacBook Pro display will use microLED backlighting and could sport high contrast and some type of wide-color gamut support.
As far as display size, Kuo said the microLED MacBook Pro will have a screen that measures between 16 and 16.5 inches. In today’s note, Kuo bumped up that forecast and said that the device could have a display closer to 17 inches on the diagonal.
It’s possible that the larger MacBook Pro was originally on the docket for a 2019 launch. Apple may have changed its plans for a MacBook Pro redesign until other technologies were ready.
More specifically, Apple is rumored to ditch Intel within the next few years in favor of its own ARM-based Mac chips. Past rumors suggest that the ARM chips could be done by 2020, which could mean that Apple could equip its 2021 MacBook Pro with them.
Similarly, the Cupertino tech giant is rumored to be developing first-party microLED panels, which could be used in devices with larger form factors over the next couple of years.
It isn’t clear what other updates or upgrades the new Mac notebook would have, but it’s very likely that Apple will update the keyboard on the device to address ongoing reliability issues with its butterfly key switches.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean that Apple isn’t going to release a new MacBook Pro in 2019 or 2020. It just means that a major redesign may be coming later than originally expected.
