Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro could be some of the first Macs to get Apple Silicon chips with Apple perhaps announcing new versions of these machines at the Apple event set to take place in November.
Well-respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo back in July suggested that Apple would release new 13-inch MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models with Apple Silicon chips before the end of the year, with those machines positioned to transition over to Apple Silicon first.
Today, shortly after Apple's event announcements went out, leaker L0vetodream shared a tweet that says "13 inch x 2," with no other contextual information, but it can be interpreted as meaning Apple plans to announce two 13-inch Apple Silicon Macs at the event. The tweet alone doesn't mean much, but paired with the earlier and more extensive information from Kuo, it gives us a bit of insight into what we might expect to see announced next Tuesday.
13 inch X 2 — 有没有搞措 (@L0vetodream) November 2, 2020
Back in July, Kuo clarified that Apple is working on updated 14.1- and 16.1-inch MacBook Pro models that have a redesigned form factor and a mini-LED display, but he said that he does not expect these machines to launch until the second or third quarter of 2021.
There were some earlier rumors of a 24-inch iMac and speculation that it could launch before the end of the year, but L0vetodream's tweet mentions no desktop model and rumors from the Chinese supply chain last week suggested that a new iMac won't launch until the first half of 2021.
Kuo initially thought the iMac and the redesigned MacBook Pro models would launch in the fourth quarter of 2020 or early 2021, but it looks like the more exciting launch with Macs that have significant design changes will come next year.
Apple Silicon Macs will be equipped with Apple's A-series chips, with the first Apple Silicon chips built on the 5-nanometer process. Apple Silicon chips will bring notable speed and efficiency improvements, along with support for universal apps able to run across all of Apple's devices. Apple plans to transition its entire Mac lineup to Apple Silicon, a process that the company expects will take about two years.
For more on what to expect from the Apple Silicon Macs, make sure to check out our guide.
Top Rated Comments
A 26-inch product!
Some people may be excited about the announcement of updated computers which *may* provide a significant improvement in both processor speed and power efficiency, the latter of which may either lead to longer battery life or a smaller footprint.
As for software - it’s a fair bet that Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and GarageBand will all have been made ready for ARM. I’m sure the Adobe suite won’t be far behind either.
And for everybody else... well there’s still Windows PCs.