Apple to unveil new MacBook models next month

May 17, 2017 05:31 GMT  ·  By

After Microsoft launched the Surface Laptop earlier this month, Apple is now getting ready to introduce upgraded MacBooks as well, as Cupertino faces fiercer competition in the upper premium market.

A report from Bloomberg reveals that Apple will use the WWDC conference next month to take the wraps off three new laptops, all of them supposed to compete against Microsoft’s Surface lineup, though the Redmond-based software giant has also been slow updating some particular models.

Launched in the fall of 2016, the MacBook Pro will be one of the laptops getting an upgrade, including faster Kaby Lake processors.

The look of the device will be mostly the same, but Apple is aiming at boosting performance with the latest Intel hardware. Rumor has it that Apple has also been trying to develop its own chip to handle the low-power mode of the MacBook Pro, but details in this regard are still scarce and it’s not known whether this new technology would be ready for the June release or not.

In addition to the MacBook Pro, Apple will also refresh the 12-inch MacBook series with a new Intel chip, again with the focus to be put on performance. This is a strategy similar to what Microsoft did with the Surface Book, which received a hardware upgrade last year, but no improvements in terms of features and design.

And last but not least, Apple is said to be finalizing an upgrade of the 13-inch MacBook Air as well, even though previous speculation indicated that the company originally planned to discontinue it.

Microsoft’s Surface lineup

Except for the brand-new Surface Laptop, Microsoft has also experienced delays for the upgraded Surface lineup, with both the Surface Pro and the Surface Book getting the last improvements in October 2015.

Microsoft was originally projected to launch the new Surface models in the fall of 2016, but the company reportedly held back the releases because certain features weren’t ready. The launch was then pushed to the spring of this year, but it looks like the Surface models are facing another delay, with new generations to go live in the fall of 2017.

On the other hand, Microsoft will be holding a Surface press event in Shanghai on May 23, when an update to the existing Surface Pro 4 is likely to be unveiled. The Surface Pro 5 is not ready just yet, Microsoft has confirmed.