The year 2021 will be massive for the Mac. Apple began the transition to Apple Silicon processors in the Mac last year with a new Mac mini, a new 13-inch MacBook Pro and a new MacBook Air. Things are expected to get more traction this year, with the rumor mill currently proposing the first iMac redesign in a decade, new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models and more.
Here’s everything we expect from the Mac series and the Apple Silicon transition this year …
Apple has admitted that it will take about two years to switch the entire Mac range to Apple Silicon chips. The new Mac mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are simply the first three Apple Silicon Macs available. We expect the next Macs to be launched slowly over the next two years until the transition is complete.
New iMac
One of the most anticipated Macs that has made the transition to Apple Silicon is the iMac. The iMac received its most recent internal upgrade in August, but the update merely includes new Intel processors inside, with the external design unchanged.
In fact, the iMac is no longer needed for an industrial redesign. The external chassis was last revised in 2012, when Apple debuted a new iMac case up to 5mm thick. But this design feature can only be seen from the side, and iMac, although it looks from the front, has remained unchanged.
Apple’s trusted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reported several times that Apple will release a redesigned iMac with a 24-inch screen sometime in 2021. Bloomberg reports that Apple has two new iMacs in store for this year to replace the existing 21.5-inch and 27-inch models with a design similar to the Pro Display XDR.
“The iMac redesign will be one of the biggest visual updates of any Apple product this year,” the report said, citing people familiar with Apple’s roadmap. This includes removing the “ken area” from below, as well as a flat back rather than the current curved design. Apple is reportedly planning two versions to replace the existing 21.5- and 27-inch models “later this year”.
Previous reports have indicated that Apple is developing a 24-inch iMac, which would theoretically serve as a replacement for the 21.5-inch model. Bloomberg does not specifically mention the screen sizes of the new iMac design, but says there will be only two versions to “replace” the existing 21.5-inch and 27-inch options.
New MacBook Pros
A version of the 13-inch MacBook Pro is already available with Apple Silicon inside, but it’s quite limited: two Thunderbolt ports, a maximum of 16 GB of memory and a maximum of 2 TB of SSD storage. We expect Apple to switch to its higher-end MacBook Pros next time around, and there’s a lot to look forward to.
First, several reports suggested that Apple had a redesigned 14-inch MacBook Pro underway. Kuo said it will be released in Q2 or Q3 2021. In November, Kuo doubled this claim, reporting that MacBooks will come up with a “new form factor and industrial design” in the second half of 2021.
Kuo specifically says that Apple has a new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro series for this year. The design changes will include square sides in both the top and bottom halves of the machine, similar to the flat design of the iPad Pro and used in the iPhone 12 series.
However, the biggest design change of all is that the Touch Bar will reportedly be completely removed, and Apple will instead return to a physical row of function keys. It comes five years after Apple first introduced the Touch Bar in 2016, and considers it the future of the Mac import method.
Kuo also says that the new MacBook Pro will include the return of MagSafe for charging, similar to the technology used in the MacBooks before 2016. The analyst adds that the MacBook Pros will also include more built-in IO ports in 2021, meaning most users will not have to buy additional dongles.
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New Mac Pro
The Mac Pro is one of the more mysterious products in Apple’s range and it’s unclear where it sits on the Apple Silicon roadmap. Recently, Bloomberg reports that Apple has a new Mac Pro in the works that would be about half the size of the current Mac Pro design.
Interestingly, Bloomberg says that the smaller Mac Pro can ‘evoke nostalgia for the Power Mac G4 Cube.’ It is powered by Apple Silicon on the inside.
The Mac Pro is harder to predict because it has an incredible modular design that allows users to mix and match components and upgrade individual parts. It is unclear how Apple Silicon will affect this design. It is also unclear whether the new Mac Pro will be on the road map in 2021 or elsewhere.
Mac mini
The current M1 Mac mini suffers from similar limitations as the 13-inch MacBook Pro and maximum 16 GB of memory and 2 TB, and there are only two Thunderbolt ports on the back and no 10 GB Ethernet. This is actually a downgrade compared to the previous generation Intel Mac mini, which Apple still sells today.
Apple may have a new Mac mini that matches four Thunderbolt ports and other higher-quality specs, but we’ll have to wait and see.
More Intel Macs?
Finally, it’s unclear whether Apple plans to release additional Macs with Intel processors. At WWDC last year, Apple said it had even more Intel Macs in the pipeline, but technically this has already been proven with the new iMacs launched in August.
In response to a recent report by Ming-Chi Kuo, reliable Twitter leak L0vetodream said that the redesigned form factor was ‘not just for Silicon’, but that this message was rather cryptic and unclear. This could refer to Apple retaining the Intel Mac Pro due to the high level of customization.
In reality, Bloomberg reports that Apple, in addition to the half-size Mac Pro, is also planning a version with the same design as the current Mac Pro that Intel processors can use for the time being.
Settlement: Apple Silicon in 2021
Clearly, 2021 will be an important year for the Mac, ranging from the 14-inch MacBook Pro to a completely redesigned iMac series for the first time in a decade. It’s not a guarantee that all of this new hardware will be released this year, but as it currently stands, we have quite a bit in store for 2021.
What do you think of Apple’s ongoing transition to Apple Silicon in the Mac series? What do you want to try the most? Let us know in the comments!
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