Apple could be preparing new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models and they will hit the market soon, if the latest news from the rumor mill turns out to be true.
MacRumors was sharp enough to make a DigiTimes report insisting – add salt, and lots of it – that the MacBook Pros will hit the market before the end of the year. The report further claims that they will stick with mini-LED screens but make improvements in energy efficiency for these screens.
We’re told the new mini LED panels are 10% brighter for the same power consumption, but Apple’s plan is to keep the picture quality as is and reap the battery benefits. In other words, the next-generation screen will use the same brightness level but consume less power, meaning these laptops will last even longer without a power outlet.
DigiTimes assumes the new MacBook Pro models will hit the market in Q4 2023, so they’re just around the corner – in theory, though we’re not so sure (we’ll get to that later) .
The other point DigiTimes makes is that Apple will be working with mini-LED displays until 2026, so there are no clear plans to adopt OLED for the MacBook Pro in the near future (as already rumored, we might wait until 2027 on OLED coming soon). Concerns about burn-in while laptop screens are on for long periods of time are apparently one of the main concerns if we move too quickly to adopt OLED.
It’s worth noting that the DigiTimes report also makes no mention of whether these updated MacBook Pros would get the M3 chip. Presumably the suggestion is that they will then stick with the current generation of M2 SoCs, as if an M3 upgrade were in the cards, you would think the tech site would have mentioned that.
Analysis: Contradictions elsewhere on the vine
Okay, so we have to be careful with this, as DigiTimes isn’t always the most reliable source – the site’s rumors can be variable in quality, so to speak – and in this case, some of these alleged plans contradict other talked. on the vine.
The main difference is that some heavyweight sources are pretty sure the new MacBook Pros won’t arrive until 2024. Both Mark Gurman and Ming-Chi Kuo, two of the most prolific Apple leakers out there, believe that new models (with M3 chips) won’t be released until next year.
And of course, we already had refreshes of the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch at the beginning of this year, so doubling the upgrades in the same year feels quite unlikely in terms of timing – especially since people really expect the M3 to come with the next MacBook Pro- outings are available. It would certainly lead to disappointment if there were no movement on that front.
That said, a Q4 launch isn’t something we can completely rule out, and adding some spice to the rumors here is a suggestion earlier this week that Apple could be planning to launch a Mac of some kind reveal – perhaps even more than one model – later this month. While that’s not a hugely harsh statement by any means, so take that with its own heap of salt. The most likely candidate for an upcoming Mac launch, if a device hits the market in October, is the iMac 24-inch.
So overall, we remain very skeptical about the possibility of new MacBook Pro models coming to market anytime soon. However, what DigiTimes indicates about the displays for the next version of these Apple laptops, and the path to OLED, certainly seems plausible enough.