Recent reports have indicated that release date of the MacBook Pro 2016 could be delayed until early next year but one analyst is convinced that the long-awaited refresh will happen no later than November. Most of the rumored feature upgrades will be delivered but Intel Kaby Lake powering the new Mac remains uncertain, the report added.
Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital said in a new report that with or without Kaby Lake, Apple will push through with the new MacBook Pro rollout this 2016. Product launch will happen in September then availability will follow October or November, the analyst said.
The MacBook Pro 2016 refresh is crucial to Apple as it could serve as "a potential reacceleration of Mac revenues," Daryanani was reported by Barrons as saying. The RBC report noted too that Mac sales have been on the decline in the past three quarters, which somehow indicates that Apple is working on a complete overhaul that hopefully will prompt for massive upgrades and new buys.
"We think a product overhaul could be positive for Mac revenues," Daryanani wrote. The analyst predicted that the product line will see a rebound and growth in 2017.
Daryanani echoed the prevailing forecast that Apple has subjected the next-generation MacBook Pro to a major design revamp, pointing to the final cut that is further trimmed down, thus rendering a device model that is thinner and lighter than ever. The MacBook Pro will be made available in 13-inch and 15-inch form factors, the analyst said.
He affirmed too that fresh feature upgrades will be part of the new MacBook deal, among them an OLED touch bar that will replace the physical function keys and Touch ID fingerprint sensor that will be embedded with the laptop's power button. The device will pack USB-C ports as well that likely is combined with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity technology.
MacOS Sierra will bring the latest Mac into life, "which will include Siri functionality, improved image management software, and enhanced iCloud Drive functionality among other features," the report said.
And it's going to be an Intel processing chip and AMD Polaris 11 as the CPU and GPU processing muscles that will be under the hood of the MacBook Pro 2016. Daryanani, however, did not specify if the processor will be of Kaby Lake or Skylake architecture.
MacRumors has reported that Intel's 7th-gen Kaby Lake will only be made available per Apple's specifications between December 2016 and early 2017, sparking rumors that either the MacBook Pro 2016 release date will be delayed until next year or the tech giant will opt for a staggered rollout with the initial models running on Skylake.