Apple is expected to release new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple Silicon SoCs this year, driving further growth for Apple in CPU market share, putting even more pressure on beleaguered Intel.
Mike Peterson for AppleInsider:
Taiwan-based research firm TrendForce says that although the Apple M1 chip was officially released in November 2020, its market share only reached 0.8% by the end of that year. The first M1 Macs included an 13-inch MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air, and a Mac mini.
The pair of MacBook Pro models equipped with a proprietary Apple CPU could the company’s CPU market share up to 7%, TrendForce estimates.
TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously predicted that new 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with an Apple chip could arrive by the second or third quarter of 2021.
MacDailyNews Take: Rumors of a MacBook Pro with a 14.1-inch Retina display have been around for quite some time now.
Of course, Apple could be saving their 14-inch Mini LED display for the ARM-based “MacBook” that most observers expect to arrive by 2021… — MacDailyNews, May 5, 2020
While I’m not so confident that Apple will ship an Apple Silicon based 16″ MacBook Pro by the end of the 2nd calendar quarter of 2021 (but hope they do) I do believe we will all be shocked if they don’t ship an Apple Silicon based 16″ MacBook Pro by the end of the 4th calendar quarter of 2021. Virtually everyone in the industry will consider it a major misstep if Apple can’t ship one in quantity by 31 Dec 2021.
As for a 14″ Apple Silicon based 16″ MacBook Pro, that’s less certain. If Apple does ship such a configuration it will be interesting to see how Apple differentiates a 13″ model from a 14″ model. The differentiation must be more than just the screen. Or will Apple just drop the 13″ in favor of the 14″ with the 14″ having the new technology screen and a second generation Apple Silicon CPU?
Interesting thoughts, Shadowself. I have to admit, I am just excited that the Mac transition to Apple silicon has begun and has been so successful. As much as is possible in the absence of Steve Jobs, this takes me back to the excitement of the late 1990s through the late 2000s when Apple redefined the course of computing for the next couple of decades.
This is a significant transition, one that has been in the works for at least six to eight years, and it will once again radically shake up the computing industry for the better.
Waiting for FaceID on a Mac. What’s taking so long people?