Redesigned MacBook Pro 2016, 13-inch MacBook Air Confirmed for Imminent Release Date with Intel Skylake? (Photo : Martin Hajek)
Apple's MacBook Pro 2016 release date plans will certainly push through but fans will need to wait a few more months as reports indicate that the next-generation MacOS Sierra laptop will not debut until October or November this year.
Analyst Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities is convinced it will be a last quarter launch for the MacBook Pro 2016 so while waiting would-be buyers may want to check out the rumored specs, features and other known details on the product so far.
Trimmed down and light
In a report, Forbes echoed the recent forecast issued by Kuo that the new MacBook Pros will be slimmer and lighter than ever, and likely to become Apple's ultraportable that will eventually make the MacBook Air obsolete.
New MacBook standard
The same report indicated that Apple will make the Butterfly Keyboard introduced with the 12-inch MacBook a standard, meaning both the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Pros that Kuo said will come out this 2016 will feature the same typing set up.
OLED bar and Touch ID
Bloomberg reported that among the prominent features bumps included with the MBPs are Touch ID that will be embedded with the laptop's power button and an OLED strip of function keys. The latter, however, remains a suspect as The Next Web raised concerns on third-party app compatibility and function lags.
USB-C and Thunderbolt 3
Forbes said numerous USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 3 connectivity will be part of the MacBook Pro 2016 that makes for quick-charging features, superfast data transfer and wider expansion options like extra storage or multiple monitor support.
Intel Kaby Lake
Intel has reportedly commenced the delivery of its seventh-generation 14-nanometer Kaby Lake to device makers and two prominent names have been mentioned as early recipients - Apple and Microsoft. The latter is rumored to use the latest chip architecture with the upcoming Surface sequels like the Surface Pro 5 and Surface Book 2.
As for Apple, it's quite obvious that it is the MacBook Pro 2016 that will first rock Kaby Lake, which reports said the tech giant had decided to wait for the chip's higher performance and enhanced efficient use of power compared to Intel Skylake.
AMD Polaris 11 GPU
The MacBook Pro 2016 release date was pushed back and the move was deliberate on Apple's part. "It seems clear that Apple was waiting for AMD's new Polaris 11-based GPU," Forbes said, quoting a Canalys analyst. And it appears that it will be worth the wait as the tandem of Intel Kaby Lake and AMD GPU will surely make the MacBook Pro 2016 thinner and lighter but still a high-performance device.
