With Apple releasing a new flagship iPhone and new versions of the iPad and iPad Pro line, fans are expecting the Cupertino-based company to do the same with the MacBook Pro. Will Apple indeed release a new and enhanced version of the MacBook? Let's find out.
Apple released its latest line of MacBook Pros just last October. MacWorld noted that it's unlikely for Apple to update the MacBook Pro line, and if ever it does it just might refresh some, not all, models.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, known for his accurate Apple forecasts, said Apple will release updates to the MacBook Pro range this year. He told clients in October last year that he expects Apple to release updated MacBook Pro models, which might include support for up to 32GB RAM, by the second half of 2017. Earlier this year he said Apple will install Intel's Kaby Lake processors in the MacBooks Pros, replacing earlier Skylake chips.
Bloomberg, on the other hand, reported last month that Apple is working on an in-house chip that will lessen the workload carried by the Intel chip. Citing people "familiar with the matter," the news outlet reported that Apple started working on the chip last year.
This chip, internally dubbed as "T310," while similar to the current chip that handles the Touch Bar Apple introduced in the 2016 MacBook Pro, will reportedly handle computer tasks that require low power. These low-power features, such as "Power Nap," allow Mac laptops to receive emails and updates while the screen is not in use.
It does need a refresh
While many consider the 2016 MacBook Pro somewhat innovative thanks to the Touch Bar that replaced the traditional function keys, some say it's quite troublesome, and that Apple has to do something about the MacBook Pro line.
In a blog entry titled "Surviving the New MacBook Pro," designer and artist Brad Frost said the 2016 MacBook Pro did have some good points such as TouchID functionality, a crisp display, and a wider trackpad.
But it has a lot of cons as well. First, the Touch Bar is quite glitch. Second, the MacBooks Pro's ports will require dongles and will be quite messy. Third, the battery life isn't as long as Apple claimed it would be (that's what Frost said). Lastly, it has a lot of glitches and problems, too.
Hopefully, Apple addresses these problems with an updated MacBook Pro. iTechPost says Apple will release new MacBook Pros in the third quarter of this year. Stay tuned for more details.
