Apple’s 16-Inch MacBook Pro: What To Expect

Apple will start the production of its rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro next month and release it sometime this year. Here’s what we know about the device.

Coffee Lake Processors

In an email sent to Forbes, IHS Markit’s Jeff Lin said Apple will start production of the 16-inch MacBook Pro in September. This new MacBook Pro will be powered by ninth-gen Intel Coffee Lake processors, instead of Intel’s latest 10th-gen Ice Lake processors.

MacRumors noted that if Lin’s prediction is true, the 16-inch MacBook Pro will have a 45W processor with integrated Intel UHD Graphics 630. Ice Lake processors have low TDPs ranging between 9W and 15W. Furthermore, Ice Lake processors are limited to four cores, and might not be powerful enough to meet Apple’s demands.

By equipping the 16-inch MacBook Pro with Coffee Lake processors, it can have at least a 6-core Intel Core i7 processor, or have up to an 8-core Intel Core i9 processor with a base speed of 2.4GHz. With Turbo Boost, this can reach speeds of up to 5.0GHz. This is Intel’s fastest 45W mobile processor to date.

Small body

Lin said around 30,000 16-inch MacBook Pro units will be made every month. Citing “OEM & Panel Supplier” as sources, he added that the new laptop will take the place of the existing 15-inch MacBook Pro.

The “15.4 [inch] MacBook [Pro] will...end production...Nov’19,” Lin said. “I am pretty sure that MacBook 15.4” will be EOL [End-of-Life].”

A Digitimes report seems to add credence to Lin’s prediction by claiming that the upcoming device will have the “same body” as that of the older model.

According to Digitimes, Apple designed the upcoming model to have thinner bezels. By doing this, Quanta, Apple’s designated manufacturer, will be able to fit a 16-inch display in a casing the size of a 15-inch MacBook Pro. This display will have a pixel density of 227 ppi, similar to the one on the 13.3-inch MacBook Pro.

New keyboard

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said that Apple will be doing away with the problematic butterfly keyboard and will be replacing it with a new one that uses a scissor mechanism and is made of glass fiber. He said the new keyboard will be featured on the new MacBook Pro.

As mentioned, Apple will start production in September. The unveiling and release dates are unknown at the moment.