Redesigned MacBook Pro 2016, 13-inch MacBook Air Confirmed for Imminent Release Date with Intel Skylake? (Photo : Martin Hajek)
The chance remains high that the MacBook Pro 2016 release will happen as early as September, a new report said, pointing to rumors that came from where the next-generation MacOS Sierra laptop will be assembled - China.
WCCF Tech reported that Chinese manufacturing firm Quanta is said to anticipating a major product conference in September. Quanta is known as one of Apple's chief manufacturing partners in Asia and is thought to be in charge of mass producing the MacBook lines. There was no clear mention of any names but the report speculated that Apple is part of the upcoming conference, which likely will be immediately followed by the product launch.
The only hint in the report that a hot new product will hit the market soon is the suggestion that following the conference, Quanta is forecasted to seen increasing revenues that will commence in the last few months of 2016. And one anticipated device that will come out following the Apple-Quanta partnership is the MacBook Pro 2016.
But the two companies as expected are silent on the matter.
And the same WCCF Tech report noted that the latest information contradicts the recent reports that the MacBook Pro 2016 will not be unpacked until late 2016 or early 2017 as Apple has decided to wait out for Intel Kaby Lake chip to be ready for the MacBook Pro specifications.
If true though that Apple will release the refresh MacBook Pro next month the device "will ship with outdated hardware." That means that instead of Kaby Lake, the new MBPs will be powered by Skylake.
In a related news, Game 'N' Guide said that rumors of the MacBook Pro 2016 featuring Kaby Lake or Skylake with USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 ports fanned the fire on speculations that upcoming laptops will be slimmer and lighter ever. With greater focus on the new MacBook Pros that likely will become more of Apple's ultraportable flagship, the MacBook Air "is slowly being killed," the report said.
Further supporting this assumption is the lack of update or even rumors on the MacBook Air while the MacBook Pro has attracted all the attention when it comes to rumored specs and feature upgrades.
On release date, the MacBook Pro 2016 is said to be powered by MacOS Sierra that will work in tandem with any of Skylake or Kaby Lake. Also part of the deal are Siri for Mac, Touch ID unlocking and OLED touch bar that will replace the physical function keys.
