New MacBook Pro models may be coming this year featuring a next-generation Apple Silicon processor. This would most likely be the larger form of the MacBook Pro, to replace the model that contains an Intel CPU and has a 16-inch screen. Other changes may include the return of MagSafe charging, which is different from the MagSafe technology available for the iPhone.
It’s easy to forget that Apple was a computer company long before it began selling the iPod and the iPhone. As such, it has manufactured a wide variety of Mac computers, ranging from the tiny Mac mini, which takes up about the same space as a modem or setup box, to the massive Mac Pro tower that weighs 40 pounds. In between those two extremes, Apple sells a few variations of its all-in-one desktop computer, called the iMac. For laptops, Apple currently sells only three models in two sizes. The new M1 MacBook Air and M1 MacBook Pro each have 13-inch screens and there is an older Intel-based MacBook Pro with a 16-inch display.
It is the larger MacBook Pro that will likely be updated next. According to Bloomberg, citing information from unnamed sources, the new MacBook Pro will have two sizes, supposedly one with a 14-inch screen and another with a 16-inch screen. Both are expected to use the next generation of Apple Silicon, so they will be similar to Apple’s speedy M1 chip that powers the newest 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, but enhanced with more performance. In addition to the processor upgrade, the new Apple laptops rumored to be coming will include MagSafe charging and may not have the Touch Bar that provides the most outwardly obvious difference between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro.
New Apple Silicon, MagSafe & TouchBar
The new Apple Silicon chips will naturally be faster, as second-generation technology almost always is, with the Bloomberg report mentioning more cores and enhanced graphics. That addition of more processing cores is almost a given. The M1 had a strong focus on efficiency, but with the larger battery capacity and greater cooling potential provided by a physically larger laptop, the new chip can draw more power and exude more heat without a problem. This means more cores can be added as well as the fine-tuning that Apple engineers always do to squeeze more performance out of each successive chip. Enhanced graphics will be needed to replace the 16-inch Intel-based MacBook Pro, since it allows discrete graphics cards. Instead of competing with Intel’s integrated graphics, this new MacBook Pro will be judged against AMD’s Radeon Pro 5300M, 5500M and 5600M.
Other changes expected may include the return of MagSafe charging. MagSafe for the Mac is different from MagSafe for the iPhone. It simply means the charging cord has magnets at the connector that hold the cord in place rather than the friction-based connectors of the current generation. The advantage is less wear on the connector and quick disconnect in the event the user trips over a cable or grabs the device, forgetting that it’s plugged in. A final possible change is the removal of the Touch Bar, which is a small touchscreen that replaces function keys. While some enjoy the feature, others complain that it is overly showy with limited value, since not every developer makes use of the technology. Apple has committed to updating all Mac computers to use Apple Silicon within two years, so more are expected this year. The report of two new MacBook Pro laptops aligns with that Apple strategy.
Source: Bloomberg