MacBook Pro 16-inch refresh may not be the Mac on Apple silicon we’re waiting for
Apple’s MacBook Pro 16-inch is supposedly getting a refresh later in 2020, as we recently heard on the grapevine, and new details have been spilled on exactly what we might expect to see in terms of hardware updates – and it’s nothing major.
This second rumor, which follows on the heels of Apple leaker Komiya revealing that there will be a minor 16-inch refresh, probably in November or December this year, has let us know that we can expect a CPU and GPU upgrade – not an ARM processor, mind (more on that in a moment) – with one extra trimming besides.
Here is what to expect:-1080p Face Time Camera -CPU&GPU upgrade -May be T3 security chip https://t.co/al6ZOIP5TKAugust 13, 2020
So, if this speculation is right – exercise caution as ever around anything from the rumor mill – we are likely looking at 10th-gen Intel processors and beefier GPUs for the MacBook Pro 16-inch, with the FaceTime camera being upgraded from 720p to Full HD resolution.
Transferring to Apple Silicon2020MacBookMacBook Pro 13”2021iMac (partly)MacBook Pro 16” (partly)2022iMac ProMac ProiMac (rest)MacBook Pro 16” (rest)August 14, 2020
In another tweet, Komiya clarified that we won’t be seeing a MacBook Pro 16-inch with ARM silicon this year, and that in 2020, what we’ll witness in terms of ARM Macs is the launch of a MacBook 12-inch and MacBook Pro 13-inch (as previously rumored).
Komiya also previously floated the theory that the ARM-powered MacBook 12-inch will cost $799 (around £610, AU$1,120), and he reckons that the MacBook Pro 16-inch will get the ARM treatment in 2021. That’s in line with past rumors that the MacBook Pro 16-inch is looking at the second quarter of 2021 for an ARM chip.
Note that the mention of ‘partly’ with the MacBook Pro 16-inch and iMac means that there will be models with both ARM and Intel processors, as Apple transitions over to using its own custom CPUs.
As you can see, Komiya believes that the rest of those machines will make the move in 2022, along with the iMac Pro and Mac Pro.
Refreshing enough?
Going back to the rumored specs of the purportedly incoming MacBook Pro 16-inch refresh later this year, there are no major moves as previously predicted, although the faster CPU and GPU will obviously be good.
Furthermore, hitting 1080p with the camera certainly won’t hurt with those ever-present videoconferencing sessions which have become a bigger part of many folks’ working days since Covid-19 hit.
As to the reference of there potentially being a new T3 security chip, that seems on rather shaky ground, and although it could happen, it’s quite possibly something for further down the line.
Remember that when Apple does introduce ARM chips with the MacBook Pro 16-inch, the security functionality will doubtless be baked into Apple’s own silicon (although the dedicated security chip will still be carried through with Intel models during the transitional phase).
Via Wccftech
