MacBook 2021 – is Apple rowing back with connection and Touch Bar?
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At the end of last week, several reports about new Apple devices surfaced. TECHNOLOGY BUTTON has summarized what awaits us in MacBooks and iMacs in 2021.
Mark Gurman, industry-known leaker, has published a report on upcoming Apple MacBook Pros, iMacs and Mac Pros on the US news portal “Bloomberg” . Gurman’s inside information is considered very reliable and detailed.
MacBook Pro
According to the report, new MacBook Pros will appear as early as mid-2021. This could not only include a new edition of the 16-inch model, but also a completely new 14-inch version. Both laptops are said to come with Apple’s own “Apple Silicon” processors of the 2nd generation and deliver considerably more power. At the end of 2020, Apple presented its first own laptop chip in the new MacBook Pro 13 inch and MacBook Air.
More graphics performance
Especially with the 16-inch model, however, it remains to be seen how Apple intends to replace the graphics performance of the previous 16-inch MacBook Pro. Comparisons have shown that the current 16-inch model with a dedicated graphics card delivers significantly more performance than the MacBook Pro with an M1 chip. Two scenarios are conceivable. Either Apple continues to use an extra graphics card from AMD – as before. Or the company has its own graphics solution up its sleeve that can achieve comparable performance.
The new MacBooks should have the Rumorsaccording to the optics of previous models. But the case could be even more angular than before, without the slight bulges on the top and bottom. In addition, the laptops should get significantly brighter and higher-contrast screens.
Also interesting: All information and rumors about the iPhone 13
No Touch Bar – MagSafe again
Another rumor about the new MacBooks is the abolition of the Touch Bar. Introduced at the same time as MagSafe was phased out in 2016, the small touch screen above the keyboard has never become a user favorite. The added value compared to the classic function keys is too low. This is largely due to the fact that there are hardly any apps that use the additional screen space for practical functions.
Apple brought MagSafe back with the iPhone 12 in late 2020 – at least in name. Until 2015, MacBooks had a magnetic charging port to which the power cable was docked. The plug simply popped off when pulled gently. This protected the laptops if someone tripped over the cable. In 2021 MagSafe could come back to the MacBook – according to Gurman in a similar form as last 2015.
However, this means that Apple would have to deviate from its one-port-for-all strategy. The MacBooks could still charge via USB-C. But MagSafe would be used for faster loading.
If the rumors come true, Apple would be tantamount to admitting that it has neglected MacBooks in recent years. The return of the Magic Keyboard in the current models has already shown that the company has taken the wrong direction with the extremely flat and extremely error-prone butterfly keyboard. The reintroduction of MagSafe and the elimination of the Touch Bar would have a similar taste. It almost looks like a return to the good old days of the pre-2016 MacBook era.
iMac and Mac Pro
In another report on Bloomberg , Gurman also gives an outlook on upcoming desktop Macs.
iMacs with a fresh look?
The iMac in particular could use a new design – the thick bezels around the display are simply out of date. The design has been practically unchanged since 2009, Apple only changed the innards and the selection of connections year after year.
Gurman predicts that the new iMacs will look a lot like the $ 5,000 Apple Pro Display XDR. That would make them much more angular and have considerably thinner edges around the screen.
The new iMacs are very likely to come with Apple silicon chips. Here, too, the question arises as to which graphics solution Apple comes up with.
Small and large Mac Pro
According to the report, Apple is also working on a new Mac Pro with a smaller case and Apple chips. The Mac Pro with Apple Silicon should only be half the size of the previous Mac Pro. Gurman believes that the small Mac Pro looks like the cuboid Power Mac G4 Cube. The Cube was the mini version of the Power Mac at the time, the predecessor of the Mac Pro.
In addition to the Mac Pro “Mini”, Apple should still work on its normal Mac Pro. The high-performance computer is to get an upgrade – but with traditional Intel processors.
The first affordable Apple screen in five years
In addition, the monitor family is to be expanded again. The Pro Display XDR is currently the only monitor in Apple’s portfolio. The last screen for non-professional buyers, the Thunderbolt Display, was discontinued in 2016. Now, however, there could be a new version that follows the current Apple design language. In other words: a cheaper version of the Pro Display XDR for consumers.