A respected industry analyst has echoed previous reports that Apple is likely to announce new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops at its World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) next week along with new versions of its operating systems.
Dan Ives, an analyst for large wealth management and advisory firm Wedbush, has told investors to expect as much next week according to a report on 9to5Mac. Just as has been noted by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Ives says he expects the new models to be powered by Apple silicon and feature the return of dedicated ports such as MagSafe and an SD card reader. In January, Gurman referred to these models as the “fix everything” editions of the computers and would even remove the TouchBar. Some rumors suggest that the new MacBook pros will feature the same overall body size, but a larger display thanks to minimized bezels.
Apple is planning for the return of the SD card slot in the upcoming 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. This is looking like the “fix everything” edition – with MagSafe also returning and the Touch Bar going away. https://t.co/kOpqkSYds0
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) January 22, 2021
While new hardware is usually announced in some capacity at WWDC, the event is mainly software-focused and fans expecting a huge dump of new hardware such as these new MacBook pros, as well as the highly-anticipated more professional-oriented iMac or Mac Pro (either a new full-size version or the rumored “mini” version), should temper expectations. Early in January, Gurman reported that the iMac would see a redesign and while that rumor did come to fruition in the new iMacs which were announced in April, many were disappointed that the refreshed design still prominently features the iMac “chin.” It is unclear if that will carry over in the higher-end iMac or if it will instead come to market with a design that mimics the Pro XDR Display as many hope.
On Monday, Apple’s added a new custom WWDC 21 hashflag to Twitter that shows a blue thumbs-up icon, which suggests some kind of iMessage connection.
#WWDC21 pic.twitter.com/SWvfphZWU3
— Hashflags (@HashflagArchive) June 2, 2021
Apple’s official graphic for the event below also prominently features iMessage iconography, further adding credence to this expectation:
Very little about what to expect from the software perspective has leaked, but the company is expected to announce new versions of iOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS. Some expect some kind of major changes to iOS on iPad because of the recently announced M1-powered iPad Pro, but there is very little information from respected sources to back up that speculation.
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