Apple Event to Include 13-Inch MacBook Pro, 16-Inch MacBook Pro, and 13-Inch MacBook Air With Apple Silicon Chips [Updated]

[Mayo86]

Has anyone else noticed that the Bloomberg article by Mark Gurman has been sneakily changed? When this was first reported I read the article in excitement and now when I read it again it simply states that the 13 inch MacBooks are further along in production and that « at least » those 2 would be shown at the event next week.

He tries to tip toe around the change as well... On the bottom of the page it states the article was updated to include the manufacturers in the third paragraph but makes no mention of the change of certainty that the 16 inch MacBook Pro may not be shown next week.

Seems shifty.

 

[leman]

What I actually wanted to say is that the most important thing is the software. I don't care if it's Apple Silicon or Intel. And that's how most customers will feel. And if there is the right software to start the process, there is no point in buying it.

That, I think we can all agree upon.

 

[Jury]

I wonder if some models might get an Intel refresh. Tim did say we have more Intel Mac's coming with the first Apple Silicon coming end of 2020. Might an Intel refresh for MBP 13/16 (Tiger Lakes/ Comet Lake) be feasible with a MBA running Apple SIlicon being the new product. Current MBA is passively cooled (might as well be, no heat pipes) and would be an obvious choice for a first AS equipped device along with maybe an AS Mac Mini. After all, current Mac Mini has no dGPU so probably a simpler path to take. Just a thought. Interesting but either way as I need to run Windows I doubt there will be many more of these in my future. Having had some great service (and a few blips, looking at you BMP Keyboard) over the years I will still follow next weeks event with interest.

Intel x86 CPU performance will be on par with Apple SoC in 2021 with superFIN process node.

Intel is not as bad as IBM in improving the architecture to deliver more performance per watt.

 

[Duncan-UK]

I just wish Apple would commit to supporting macOS on Intel until at least a specific date (such as until at least 2025). With the switch from PPC to Intel, they said PPC would be supported for years to come, but then just 3 years later, OS X was Intel-only. I've already gotten a year of use out of my 2019 iMac, but that replaced a late-2012 one. I bought high specs on both (i7-3770 + GTX 680MX + Fusion Drive for the 2012, and i9-9900K + Vega 48 + SSD for the 2019) because it would be several years before I needed to upgrade.

Why would it be a problem, seriously? The intel models are excellent computers - they wont cease to function just because a later version of Mac OS is Apple Silicon only. If you need the newest machine, you'll buy it. If you don't then a current intel Mac will give you years of future usage.

 

[planetf1]

I currently have a 15 inch 2016 mbp to replace. My usage is open source sw dev in Java and go. Lots of browsing, some streaming. Gfx only in so much as supporting those other tools.

I’m ready to upgrade but I’ll be seeing how the arm ones turn out. Looks very appealing and it feels as if going Intel is on that path to nowhere. May well stick for the next year if needed

 

[leman]

Intel x86 CPU performance will be on par with Apple SoC in 2021 with superFIN process node.

Tiger Lake is SuperFin. Currently, a 4.8 ghz Tiger Lake and a 3.0 ghz A14 have about the same performance, but the A14 uses 1/4 of power. Comparing architectures, state of the art A-series seem to deliver about 1.5-1.7 better perf-per-clock than state of the art Intel chips, while watt-per-clock is about the same. Which means that Apple can run their cores on full power in a multi-core chip, where Intel has to throttle them down significantly.

I just don't see what Intel can do here. I find it rather unlikely that they will manage to improve their perf-per-watt by a factor of 4 in two years.

 

[ginkobiloba]

I don’t think the 16” s going to be Silicon. The target for that machine ( audio/video pros) uses software that is still not Arm-ready, and compatibility and speed are a must.

 

[richinaus]

No redesign = no buy.
why would I go out and risk on an AS cpu if there is no gain on the hardware? Very odd.

My bets the 16” is an 10th gen intel,

 

[theorist9]

Where did you get the Boot Camp user data? I can’t find it anywhere.

I forget where I saw it. I'll try to track it down.

 

[Peter_M]

Still no 14” MacBook Pro on the way? Get with it, Apple! Honestly... 🙄

 

[leeuk321]

I love the 12” Macbook - it’s the only truly ultra-portable Mac you can carry anywhere and not realise you’re carrying it. I’d love them to do a new version, but I don’t know where it fits in to their current lineup and way of thinking.

Unless next year they go to a 12”, 14” & 16” lineup?

I'm with you there. I'm currently still rocking a 2017 12" Macbook, because the Airs have never appealed to me.

This is a tough one. If they release a 13" Air that's lighter & quieter than the current 13" Air, but still not as light/quiet as the 12", I don't know what to do. Now, if Tim Cook came out on stage and said "We have no plans to bring back the 12-inch Macbook ever. So stop waiting." that'd obviously change things. Or if he said, "No 12-inch this year, but next year for sure", that'd change things too.

But obviously he won't. So, I'll think "Maybe next year". Problem is, that's what I've been saying since 2018. And it goes without saying that as soon as I fold and buy a 13" Air, whether it be this year or 2050, they'll resurrect the 12" the next day.

 

[Babygotfont]

2020 TL update release the day-of the event ... Arm coming March 2021

 

[leeuk321]

I wish they add 2 X USB 3.0 ports not just USB-C ports. There are people who have USB 2.0/3.0 Devices which require USB 3.0 Ports So they connect their USB 2.0/3.0 devices now people have to buy USB-C hub with USB 3.0 Ports. Some USB-C hubs can slow down your computer and internet performance

I think it's about a trillion-to-one chance of Apple reintroducing the USB-A shape connector on their laptops. When they got rid of the floppy drive, people still had floppy disks. Same with DVD drives. Etc. People are always going to have tech items that outlives the latest tech from manufacturers, something has got to "move first" otherwise it'd be a vicious cycle that would carry on for eternity.

Yes, Apple always moves fast, but you're not going to find a USB-A port on any laptop at all in a few years time.

 

[aknabi]

Why do you want a redesign? Does it really matter what the machine looks like so long as it has a good screen and a working keyboard?

Sounds like an ad for a $300 Chuwei notebook.

 

[SWAON]

Next years models should be more interesting. Apple will have to compete with 8 core tiger lake cpus and amd zen 3.

I pretty much expect the opposite, how Intel and AMD will compete with Apple's ARM. I'm sure ARM will be better at first.. it's exciting times in the tech world in the near future

 

[dazzer21-2]

I think it's about a trillion-to-one chance of Apple reintroducing the USB-A shape connector on their laptops. When they got rid of the floppy drive, people still had floppy disks. Same with DVD drives. Etc. People are always going to have tech items that outlives the latest tech from manufacturers, something has got to "move first" otherwise it'd be a vicious cycle that would carry on for eternity.

Yes, Apple always moves fast, but you're not going to find a USB-A port on any laptop at all in a few years time.

USB A to USB C adaptors are pence in comparison to new cables and you just don;t notice they are there. I just bought some as I upgraded from a 2015 iMac to a 2020 MacBook Pro and it's like nothing's any different.

 

[dannys1]

It turns out that Geekbench is actually fairly closely correlated to more respected CPU benchmarks — https://nuviainc.com/blog/performance-delivered-a-new-way-part-2geekbench-versus-spec

A12 and A13 specifically have been evaluated in great depth. We know for certain that the A13 is just 5-10% slower than a 5.0 ghz Intel Skylake CPU and almost on par with a 4.8 ghz Tiger Lake. A14 in the iPhone is clocked 10% higher, so there is your performance estimate — and Geekbench scores are in line with it.

As to running benchmarks on iOS vs macOS — why would it make a difference? DTK results show quire clearly that it doesn't

But the thing is you're looking at pure raw CPU stats here, that's not how the real world works. You've got CPU instructional optimisations such as Intel Quick Sync for video rending - which is why the iMac can render video than the iMac Pro with a far higher clock CPU and cores.

One synthetic benchmarks tells us something about raw power, but you can benchmark processors in actual application use and they'll come out all over the place depending on the task.

Apple have been lining up to replace the 8th gen processors, they are NOT going to replace 10th gen processors that literally came out 6 months ago - despite the joke that Apple updates every couple of months they actually don't and never had done with a Mac line. You might see the lower end 13" MBP on par with the higher end 10th gen Intel chips but the software and platform needs time to mature is why they're doing it at the lower end first. When the 14inch MBP with mini LED comes out next summer and replaces the 10th gen Intel line I expect it'll be much better in many ways.

 

[dannys1]

you won't be able to upgrade after purchasing or repair it yourself.

I've no idea why people are hung up about this with computers.

I can't upgrade my PS5, Xbox, £5000 OLED TV (which cost more than my MacBook Pro!) my £1000 Traktor S8 DJ console, my £3000 DAC, my turntables, my heat pump, my iPad, my iPhone, my watch, my washing machine...I could go on and on and on, there's literally no other tech product on the high or low end that you can upgrade or repair yourself. Just because you could do it with computers in the 80s if you were so inclined doesn't mean it should happen forever. Just buy the spec you need and stop being so tight at the time of purchase.

 

[rp2011]

Now it’s not too far out of an idea to dream of a 24” iMac with a pivoting screen to use iPad drawing apps like a Surface Studio

 

[leman]

One synthetic benchmarks tells us something about raw power, but you can benchmark processors in actual application use and they'll come out all over the place depending on the task.

That's why I wrote that definition of "performance" depends on what you are after. I am looking at it from the standpoint of CPU and GPU architecture in general-purpose tasks. For some users, special units (like video encoders/decoders you mention) may be more important. But we already know that those are state of the art on Apple platforms.

Apple have been lining up to replace the 8th gen processors, they are NOT going to replace 10th gen processors that literally came out 6 months ago - despite the joke that Apple updates every couple of months they actually don't and never had done with a Mac line. You might see the lower end 13" MBP on par with the higher end 10th gen Intel chips but the software and platform needs time to mature is why they're doing it at the lower end first. When the 14inch MBP with mini LED comes out next summer and replaces the 10th gen Intel line I expect it'll be much better in many ways.

Depends on what Apple does really. For example, they could just take the "regular" A14 from an iPhone and put it into a 9W chassis of a 12" MB. That will give them a laptop that faster in burst workloads (but slightly slower in multi-core) than any 13" MBP, with 50 % faster graphics. Or they could use a A14X chip (with four CPU cores and 7-8 GPU cores), which would leave any Intel-based 13" MBP in the dust.

I suppose there is a certain intrigue in offering both Intel and ARM-based 13"... that would be a very powerful message from Apple.

 

[flottenheimer]

No significant design changes until 2021.
Doh! I'll have to wait then.

 

[dooyou]

No significant design changes until 2021.
Doh! I'll have to wait then.

1st Gen. Product. Its always better to wait. But Apple doesn‘t have to relay anymore on Intel. They have the full controll of Speed Bumps now. Every year a little more, like they want.

 

[markiv810]

1st Gen. Product. Its always better to wait. But Apple doesn‘t have to relay anymore on Intel. They have the full controll of Speed Bumps now. Every year a little more, like they want.

You are right about that but Intel based Macs will become obsolete much before the 1st Gen Apple Silicon based computer (laptop/desktop)

 

[oldsuttree]

I'm with you there. I'm currently still rocking a 2017 12" Macbook, because the Airs have never appealed to me.

This is a tough one. If they release a 13" Air that's lighter & quieter than the current 13" Air, but still not as light/quiet as the 12", I don't know what to do. Now, if Tim Cook came out on stage and said "We have no plans to bring back the 12-inch Macbook ever. So stop waiting." that'd obviously change things. Or if he said, "No 12-inch this year, but next year for sure", that'd change things too.

But obviously he won't. So, I'll think "Maybe next year". Problem is, that's what I've been saying since 2018. And it goes without saying that as soon as I fold and buy a 13" Air, whether it be this year or 2050, they'll resurrect the 12" the next day.

Even if the 12-inch MacBook was Jony Ive's project, I think we'll see its return but not this month. I assume next year. The MacBook represents the "future of notebooks": Wireless, no fan, and designed around a full-size keyboard, battery life. I think Apple still cares about these ideals and the Air doesn't quite live up to the original MacBook's. I think the Air returned because the engineering needed for a 2018/19/20 MacBook never materialized, whether that's on Intel or whatever.

 

[calstanford]

Even if the 12-inch MacBook was Jony Ive's project, I think we'll see its return but not this month. I assume next year. The MacBook represents the "future of notebooks": Wireless, no fan, and designed around a full-size keyboard, battery life. I think Apple still cares about these ideals and the Air doesn't quite live up to the original MacBook's. I think the Air returned because the engineering needed for a 2018/19/20 MacBook never materialized, whether that's on Intel or whatever.

Not sure I follow your logic. So 12" MB (which is 3+ years old) is 'the future' but not today's future, some future time's future because 'the engineering needed never materialized'? Well it's there now. In the form of ARM.
Put it in now or never. Why wait? Wait for what?