The Apple MacBook Pro is already a worthy contender in the list of best laptops and it’s about to get even better with the upcoming Apple Silicon upgrade. The MacBook Pro 2021 is suggested to feature a new design and colors similar to the 21 inch iMac 2021, mini LED displays, a much more powerful ARM-based M1X chipset with up to 64GB of RAM, faster charging, and the return of an HDMI port, SD card reader, and a MagSafe connector for the charger. It’s shaping up to be an exciting device, and we mightn’t be too far off of a launch now.
According to industry insider Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter (via FrontPageTech), Apple is gearing up to launch the new M1X chipset at an October event. In 2020, Apple made the long-awaited migration to its custom ARM-based eight-core M1 silicon. Unlike the x86-64 Intel chips used by Apple to power its laptops, the ARM-based silicon comes in a system-on-a-chip (SoC) format — just like on an iPhone or iPad. In addition to the 10-core CPU, the Apple M1X chip will potentially offer the choice between GPUs with 16 and 32 cores.
Gurman said the following:
The MacBook Pro wait is likely almost over: The new MacBook Pro didn’t appear at Apple’s September product unveiling, but it should still be launching in the coming weeks. Apple typically does its major new Mac introductions in October. So stay tuned.
The Apple M1X chip, the likely name for a more graphics-intense and professional-focused M1 chip, is indeed still on tap for 2021. We’ll likely see it show up first in a new range of MacBook Pros in the next month and a higher-end Mac mini at some point. The M1X has been developed in two variations: both with 10 CPU cores (eight high-performance and two high-efficiency) and either 16 or 32 graphics cores.
The chip is also slated to come with better neural processing capabilities and feature support for up to a whopping 64GB of RAM. However, a report by AppleTrack back in July suggested that the new M1X Macs may be capped at 32GB of RAM. It’s speculated this move can be seen as a result of low demand for Apple’s 64GB RAM configuration on existing Macs.
Apple recently launched the iPhone 13 series, the Apple Watch Series 7, and a set of new iPads at its September event. We’re excited to see what the new MacBook Pros have to offer, especially if the launch event is as soon as it seems. Given that some of this year’s Apple leaks have failed to materialize, make sure to take this news with a healthy dose of skepticism.