HIGHLIGHTS

• MacBook Pro 2021 will likely be powered by an M1X chipset.
• It will feature a mini-LED display, like the one seen on the new 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro.
• It is now tipped to launch sometime between September and November this year.

Apple is expected to announce its new MacBook Pro sometime later this year. From what has been predicted so far, the new Apple device will feature a mini-LED display, also known as Apple’s Liquid Retina XDR. A new report now gives us a timeframe of when we can expect its launch.

Building on the existing claims, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman speculates in his recent Power On newsletter that the new MacBook Pro will be available sometime between September and November. For this, Apple will start with the production of the units in the ongoing third quarter.

The claims add to the earlier prediction by noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Gurman notes in his newsletter that the new MacBooks were, in fact, supposed to launch earlier this year. The production got delayed due to complications around the new mini-LED display.

The mini-LED display can already be seen on the new 12.9-inch M1 iPad Pro. The use of 10,000 mini-LEDs on the panel allegedly makes for better backlight and contrast through higher brightness and deeper blacks. It is even claimed to improve the power efficiency of the display.

As spotted by 9to5Mac, Gurman even tips readers on how to choose between the new MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. He mentions that the MacBook Pro will be great for those requiring heavy image and video editing, while the MacBook Air will be sufficiently powerful for those requiring light, everyday work like web browsing out of it.

Other speculations on the upcoming MacBook Pro have hinted at some design changes. These might include slimmer bezels than before and a new squared-off design. Interestingly, MacBook Pro has also been predicted to lost out on its touch-bar to make way for physical keys.

Apple is expected to feature its new M1X chipset on the MacBook Pro and might equip it with up to 64GB of RAM. The MacBook Pro might also come with an improved neural engine that will be capable of processing complex machine-learning tasks.

For keeping the chipset cool, Apple might borrow the improved heat dissipation system from the current 16-inch MacBook Pro model. Apple revamped the thermal system of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, increasing the size of the heat pipe, adding thermal pads, and increasing the size of the heat sink by 35 per cent. So, it’s likely that the same thermal system will be used on the new MacBook Pros.