The new Apple MacBook Pro laptop computer is seen during a product launch event on October 27, 2016 in Cupertino, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Stephen Lam)
More powerful but super-slim and with longer lasting battery life are the rumored feature bumps that should make one forget about the current models and go for the MacBook Pro 2017, possibly scheduled for a release date later in year. When the device unpacks, part of the deal is an IGZO display panel in lieu of the usual LCD, a new report said.
According to MacRumors, the chance is high that the next-generation MacBook Pro screen is laced not with the amorphous silicon (a-Si) active layer LCD screen but with the semi-conducting indium gallium zinc oxide or IGZO. If the switch will happen this 2017 then the sequel to the MacBook Pro 2016 will boast of "improved touch sensitivity, and increased pixel density, which could pave the way for higher resolution displays," the report added.
And more importantly, the MacOS Sierra notebook with IGZO will benefit from an extended battery life as the panel material is said to be less power-hungry.
The same report indicated that the MacBook Pro 2017 with IGZO stands to get "significantly higher brightness." "The higher the PPI and the wider the Color Gamut (like DCI-P3 for the new MacBook Pro) the greater the benefits of IGZO over a-Si, particularly for LCDs," the report added.
Also theoretically, IGZO will permit Apple engineers to make the new MacBook Pro with considerably trimmed down build but MacRumors said that the possible redesign will not apply this year but in the next few sequels to come. For now, it appears that the priority is for MBP 2017 users to gain extra hours of mileage in order to address the battery issues generated by the 2016 edition.
And if IGZO will end up being part of the MacBook Pro 2017 package, the display material will likely debut alongside the Kaby Lake processors that Intel has just unveiled. Apple is long-rumored to use the 7th-generation chips for its Mac and MacBook lines and deliver the devices with more powerful and faster computing prowess.
Intel Kaby Lake on the MacBook Pro 2017 will also contribute to a longer battery life as the latest architecture has better energy efficient features versus the Intel Skylake.
No definite release date yet for the MacBook Pro 2017 but according to the normally accurate Apple watcher Ming-chi Kuo of KGI Securities, the device will touchdown anytime in the second half of the year.
