Rumors have it that Apple will use Intel's seventh-gen Kaby Lake processing chip to run the MacBook Pro 2016 on release date but the actual unboxing could be delayed until early 2017. Or the tech giant can opt for staggered arrival of the new laptops with the initial batch of shipments making do with Intel Skylake.
The switch from Skylake to Kaby Lake is understandable as MacRumors highlighted in a new report that the latter promises optimized support for Thunderbolt 3, native USB 3.1 and DisplayPort 1.2 - all elements rumored packed with the slimmer and lighter but even more powerful MacBook Pros. The report added that Apple picked Kaby Lake as its architecture is designed to "push the boundaries of processor graphics."
Recent rumors have suggested that in overhauling the MacBook Pro, Apple is looking to market the device not only as a productivity device but also a portable gaming machine. The new MBPs are thought to boast of AMD's Polaris 11 GPU muscle.
But all these specs and feature upgrades will not happen soon enough as it appeared that Intel can only deliver the exact Kaby Lake flavor as prescribed by Apple by late 2016 or early 2017, which contradicts the earlier projections coming from analysts that the MacBook Pro 2016 will become available no later than November this year.
"Any Apple machines released in the fall of 2016 may be limited to Skylake chips," MacRumors reported.
In such a scenario, Apple has two options, Game 'N' Guide reported. One is to just push back the new MacBook Pro debut, which is not out of character as far as Apple is concerned.
Or the company can still meet its 2016 fall release schedule by effecting a staggered rollout of the MacBook Pro refresh. As expected, the initial batch of MBP 2016 will have Skylake as the platform and to move the devices out of store shelves they will be priced relatively lower than the Kaby Lake models.
The Skylake-powered MacBook Pro 2016 will be identical to that of its Kaby Lake twin - same slimmer and lighter build, same redesign and same feature upgrades like OLED touch bar, Touch ID-enabled power button and Siri for Mac that is integrated with the new MacOS Sierra operating system.
The MacBook Pro 2016 running on Kaby Lake will mirror everything found on its Skylake sibling and the release date will likely happen as early as January the following year.