New Apple MacBook Pro with drastically improved screen could be here sooner than you think

Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020)
(Image credit: Future)

Apple has new MacBook Pros waiting in the wings with its custom M1 chip that’ll also have the much-rumored Mini LED screen, and these models will reportedly be arriving in the second quarter of 2021.

This is according to DigiTimes – which has something of a patchy track record with rumors, so exercise some caution – which claims that said MacBook Pro machines will go into mass production in Q2.

The site makes the further assertion that the iPad Pro with Mini LED display is also imminent, and will in fact arrive in the first quarter, before the aforementioned MacBook Pros.

This marries up with what well-known and respected Apple leaker Ming-Chi Kuo has previously said, namely that fully revamped MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch models are due to pitch up in 2021, possibly in Q2 or Q3. The latest from Kuo seems to indicate the latter is more likely, but DigiTimes is obviously plumping for Q2 with what it has heard on the grapevine.

That’s good news for those who are keen to see these portables as soon as possible, at least in theory.

Kuo also said that we will see a Mini LED iPad debut in the first half of 2021, again backing up this new rumor, and making all this seem more likely – but let’s not get carried away at this point.

Mini marvels

At any rate, why the fuss about Mini LED? These displays promise to deliver in terms of vivid colors and dynamic range, better contrast and brightness, so in short, a better picture quality all round. And perhaps just as importantly for portable devices, they consume less battery power than the current LED-backlit screens – and should be thinner too, in terms of making svelte machines.

Apple’s future MacBooks may also seek to innovate further with a new Touch Bar (and perhaps the introduction of Force Touch tech for the latter, eventually).

Via MacRumors

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).