Mini-LED display configuration expected in two years

Apr 10, 2019 08:38 GMT  ·  By

Rumor has it that Apple is working on a significant overhaul of its MacBook Pro lineup, and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously said that a first iteration is expected as soon as this year.

And while this continues to be the case, at least according to Kuo, the highly-anticipated MacBook Pro upgrade won’t be ready until 2021 when Apple would take the wraps off a truly revised model feature a mini-LED display.

Kuo originally said Apple wanted to launch new MacBook Pro models, including a configuration with a display between 16 and 16.5 inches, as well as a version with a 13-inch screen, but with upgraded RAM that could reach 32GB.

The analyst now explains that while a first iteration of the 16-inch MacBook could go live this year, the 2021 is the one expected to generate more excitement, especially because of substantial upgrades under the hood.

New iPad also coming

So what Apple might be planning to do is release a 16-inch MacBook Pro that the company would then revise every year to iron out bugs and other possible hardware issues that typically arise on new devices. Cupertino clearly wants to avoid all the criticism that it received for the design flaws that its existing MacBook generation launched with, and this gradual rollout appears to be the best choice.

The migration to mini-LED displays, however, isn’t something that will be exclusive to the MacBook Pro. The analyst says the same type of screen could also be used on a new iPad model with a screen between 10 and 12 inches.

For the time being, however, most of the speculation seems to point to a new screen size and upgraded hardware on the new MacBook, while features like touch support aren’t even under consideration. This is surprising given the PC market is migrating to touch input, but Apple said on several occasions that it doesn’t see the future of MacBooks relying on touch-capable screens.