As I said yesterday, despite a rumor otherwise, I don’t think the upcoming 14-inch MacBook and new 16-inch MacBook Pro will be delayed until 2022. However, a new report says that, while they will debut in 2021, supplies may be constrained.
According to Digitimes, supply chain resources say that supplies of the new laptops might be constrained due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns. The report says that Taiwan-based high-tech companies in various sectors have all strengthened their precautionary measures, such as operating in segregated teams and work from home (WFH) in response to a recent surge in domestic COVID-19 infections, especially in Taipei and New Taipei, northern Taiwan, according to industry sources. DigiTimes adds that, brring COVID impacts, volume production for miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro devices will still have to be deferred because of issues with miniLED supply.
However, Apple plans to launch new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with an improved 10-core iteration of the M1 chip and up to 64GB of RAM as early as this summer, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
The 2021 MacBook Air will come in different colors like the 2021 iMac, according to Apple leaker Jon Prosser. This means they would be offered in green, yellow, blue, orange, pink, purple, and silver. Currently, you can get the MacBook Air in space gray, gold, or silver. I expect the next generation 16-inch MacBook Pro will only be available in space grey or silver.
The next gen laptops are expected to sport a design overhaul (and the removal of the controversial touch bar), have mini-LED displays, and pack the successor to Apple’s M1 processor.
