MacBook Pro and MacBook Air could get their biggest upgrade ever this year

(Prototype credit: Tom's Guide)

We've expected a 13-inch MacBook Pro running on ARM-based Apple Silicon this yr, but a new rumor shows that Apple tree might exist thinking bigger.

Taiwan-based tech publication DigiTimes is reporting that its "manufacture sources" say Apple is planning to release its other MacBook at the same fourth dimension. And that'south making the states wonder how Apple plans to differentiate its laptops.

MacBook Air vs Pro: What's the best MacBook?
The best laptops are

Quoting the written report, "Apple is fix to release 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, powered by Apple Silicon, by the end of this yr." This set off an warning in my brain: how will the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air differentiate once nosotros've moved away from Intel'due south U- and Y-serial fries?

The study does not explain anything about that, simply this all reminds me of the informed speculation I reported on concluding week, when analyst J. Glenn Künzler argued that Apple won't be making many variations on its laptop chips.

Instead, Künzler suggested the 13-inch MacBook Air and Pro will be merged into a laptop known merely as The New MacBook, or just the MacBook. That the 16-inch MacBook Pro would be the laptop with multiple Apple chips in it, to make it the more than powerful edition.

But if Apple tree plans to release 2 thirteen-inch ARM-based laptops this winter, i wonders how they'd exist different if Künzler is correct nigh Apple tree limiting its number of chips. Could the Air get an even bigger redesign than its 2018 edition? Volition it go the ultra-ultraportable that the 12-inch MacBook was supposed to be?

As long every bit the MacBook Air is merely a slightly more tapered MacBook Pro, with its wedge shape, Apple faces an engineering decision. The Air has less space for its internal bombardment by default, then will the Pro simply terminal longer? Or would Apple increase the number of A-serial fries in the Pro so that the ii laptops have more than similar battery life, and the Pro is speedier?

Henry is a senior editor at Tom'due south Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the by 6-plus years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Mag. He'due south also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.