Apple has big plans for the MacBook Pro in 2021 with a redesign expected to turn the 13-inch model into a MacBook Pro 14 inch and a new version of the MacBook Pro 16 inch. There are many more new features coming to the range, including a more powerful version of Apple’s M1 chip – the M1X – and new mini-LED screen technology.
There has been a lot of speculating that the new MacBook Pro was coming soon. There has been a small flurry of excitement caused by a recent social media post by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman wrote that the new MacBook Pro can come in the coming weeks.
The journalist noticed that the Intel-powered 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro notebooks were either increasingly showing up as not available in Apple stores or those that were available were also stuck with shipping delays (maybe because the shipping is going to do from stores further away in the country). While Gurman has checked Los Angeles and its surrounding area, it appears the same is happening further afield, such as in London. This has sparked the speculation that the disappearance is due to the incoming M1X MacBook Pro 14 and MacBook Pro 16.
As per a January 2021 report, we can expect significant design changes including a flat-edged iPhone 12-like design; no Touch Bar; the return of MagSafe charging; and more ports – including an SD slot in the upcoming MacBook Pros. There is code in the macOS Monterey beta that indicates that two new screen resolutions are indeed coming – one of which may well be the 14in MacBook Pro. The two new displays will offer the following resolutions: 3,456 × 2,234 Retina and 3,024 × 1,964 Retina.
According to Bloomberg’s Gurman, the M1X chip is expected to be “a more graphic-intense and professional-focused M1 chip” that has allegedly been developed “in two variations: both with 10 CPU cores (eight high-performance and two high-efficiency) and either 16 or 32 graphics cores.”
Expect more memory and storage. The Intel-based 13-inch MacBook Pro tops off at 4TB of storage and 32GB of RAM, and Apple is likely to match those numbers, as the 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021 would fill that spot in the lineup.