Updated Feb 7th: article originally posted February 6th
Apple’s recently launched MacBook Pro models may offer an increase in power over the previous generation, but nothing could be classed as ‘new’ in the package. I’d argue they are closer to being mid-cycle ’S’ upgrades rather than the next generation of professional macOS laptops.
What could Apple be planning for that next generation?
Update: Tuesday 7th February: One more area where the new MacBook Pro models will stand out will be in the next iteration of Apple Silicon. While the jump from the m1 family to the M2 family has offered around 20 percent increases across the board, both are using 5nm technologies.
With the M3 family, Apple is expected to move to a 3nm process and join the rest of the competition, notably Samsung. Reports today have the South Korean company making a significant move by reducing orders of its older chip designs to focus on 3nm and its use in its Exynos chipset.
Switching the MacBook Pro to 3nm should reduce the chipset’s power consumption, improve performance, and reduce its physical size. These gains should be far more between the M2 and M3 compared to the M1 to M2. Apple will, no doubt, be ready to match that in the near future.
Korean publication ET News, which regularly monitors the supply chain, reports that Apple has been hard at work on sourcing OLED display panels in sizes suitable for the iPad family. Today’s report highlights two more physical sizes of display, in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. In other words, they are perfect sizes for the professional MacBook Pro laptops.
Apple has been working hard to make microLED display part of its portfolio, but it is expected to start off with a smaller display, such as the Apple Watch, before something more expansive. A ‘halfway house’ of an OLED screen would bridge that gap nicely from the LCD-based “Liquid Retina XDR” displays currently in use.
A quick look through Apple’s recent software movement to bring iPadOS and macOS closer together shows that the clunky mouse-based workaround is holding back many apps transitioning from the tablet to the deskbound alternatives. Adding a touchscreen, something Apple has long pushed back on, is inevitable over the next few years.
A touchscreen. A new display technology. Perhaps even some under-the-glass cameras to leave the island cutout behind.
If Apple wants to make a big splash with the next MacBook Pro, then it has certainly held back enough toys to pack a punch when it is ready.
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