At merely few days away from this week’s Apple event, MacBook fans are expecting some major announcements, following rumors based on predictions made by KGI Securities top analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.
In a further elaboration on its initial note to investors, Kuo has recently shared his thoughts on this week’s Mac announcements. Kuo, who has been consistently accurate in his predictions on past Apple product releases, is hinting at the possibility that neither the rumored Mac Display, nor a new iMac will be introduced this year, but rather slated for a 2017 announcement.
Instead, a number of new MacBook models will most likely be unveiled, which includes a 13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Pro in a radically updated design, as well as a 13 inch version of the 2015 12 inch MacBook Retina.
Initial rumors in regard to the Apple Mac Display, have been suggesting that the new display will replace the retired Thunderbolt Display, and will feature 5K resolution, in at least three sizes, starting at 21 inches, up to 27 inches. Furthermore, the new display has been rumored to include an integrated graphic card which will act as discrete GPU and enhance the graphic capabilities of any Mac computer connected to the display, including the entry level Apple Mac Mini. Needless to say, the new display will most likely work with the 2013 Apple Mac Pro, thanks to the integrated GPU. Speaking of which, it’s still unclear whether Apple will build the new displays using an AMD Polaris GPU, or rather an NVIDIA GTX 10-series, especially since NVIDIA’s recent release of its entry-level GTX 1050 Ti GPU, priced at $139, and still powerful enough to fit the requirements of VR systems like Oculus VR.
In reference to a 2017 refresh of the Apple iMac Retina, not much has been revealed so far, and by that token, the new model might merely feature incremental upgrades, along the lines of a faster processor, possibly an Intel Core Kaby Lake, and some improvements in regard to storage and memory.
Information on the upcoming 13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Pro to be unveiled this week, at least from Apple, are scarce, and mostly reliant on Kuo’s predictions, and a number of concept renderings created outside of Apple’s inner circle, by a third party.
What Kuo has shared so far is that the new laptop could feature a redesigned body, modeled after the 12 inch MacBook Retina, with a few additions, like an OLED touch bar replacing the function keys row in the laptop’s keyboard, Touch-ID integrated in the Force Touch trackpad, and an upgraded ports array, which might include the same USB Type-C port featured on the 12 inch MacBook Retina, which, just like in the 12 inch MacBook, will replace the MagSafe power connector entirely. Other rumors hint to the possibility that the new Mac will also feature a 2TB SSD option.
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