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Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro model may come as soon as September

Rumors of the 16-inch MacBook Pro will not die down. Today, Digitimes says that Apple has asked Quanta to manufacture the new MacBook Pro, which will feature narrower bezels to accommodate a 16-inch LCD display in ‘the same body’ as the current 15-inch MacBook Pro.

The screen resolution is expected to be 3072×1920, corroborating previous reports. Digitimes claims the new high-end model will debut in September.

The narrower bezels mean that the overall casing is roughly equivalent to the current 15-inch MacBook Pro. Customers should expect a larger screen in the same overall physical size as the 15-inch lineup.

Digitimes says that manufacturers of the aluminum materials should not expect significant growth from this new product introduction, as the raw materials are not really changing — however, the unibody chassis will obviously have to be CNC’d differently to incorporate the larger screen in the top case.

The allusion to a release in September fits with previous reports that suggested a ‘fall’ timeframe, but Digitimes accuracy is often doubted. It would not be surprising for the machine to appear in October, for instance. It depends how Apple arranges its fall product lineup. We expect the iPhone 11 to launch in September, and it is possible that the new MacBook Pro is introduced at the same event. However, there is also a good chance Apple hosts a second media event in October to debut other products.

In 2018, the September event included the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and Apple Watch Series 4. The October 2018 event was where Apple unveiled the iPad Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini.

For 2019, Apple may want to roll its services announcements into the September event, such as pricing and availability details for Apple Arcade and Apple TV+, alongside the new iPhone fanfare. It certainly feels like October is the more natural time for a MacBook Pro hardware revision.

In addition to the slim bezels and larger display, the new MacBook Pro is also expected to include Apple’s replacement for the butterfly keyboard, reported to be a scissor key design. Anxious MacBook Pro buyers are also hoping for other tweaks, like a physical Escape key next to the Touch Bar and maybe the return of some more I/O other than four USB-C ports.

Apple has already spec-bumped the rest of the MacBook Pro line this year. In May, it updated the 15-inch MacBook Pro with 9th-generation Intel processors. In July, ahead of the back to school shopping season, it revamped the entry-level MacBook Pro with the addition of a Touch Bar, Touch ID, and improved CPUs.

Original Source: 9tomac.com

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Three of Apple’s 2020 iPhones will reportedly support 5G

As networks begin to roll out 5G networks around the world, phone manufacturers are beginning to roll out phones that will be able to access them. Apple has been widely expected to roll out a 5G-compatible phone in 2020, and now, a new report suggests that all three of the company’s phones will support 5G.

Last month, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that next year’s 5.4-inch and 6.7-inch iPhone models would support 5G, while a third, a cheaper 6.1-inch iPhone XR successor would only access LTE networks. Kuo has now issued a new report, and MacRumors says that he’s revised that prediction: All three iPhone models will support 5G. He notes that “Apple has more resource for developing the 5G iPhone after the acquisition of Intel baseband business,” and that the price of Android 5G phones will drop.

However, while the report comes just days after Apple announced that it was acquiring a “majority” of Intel’s modem business for $1 billion, MacRumors says that the company isn’t quite ready to switch away from Qualcomm, and that it won’t likely be until 2021 before it can use its own version.

Kuo notes that he expects most Android phones will support the sub-6GHz version of 5G, but not the mmWave version, which offers more speed. “The key is that consumers will think that 5G is the necessary function in 2H20,” he writes. “Therefore, iPhone models which will be sold at higher prices have to support 5G for winning more subsidies from mobile operators and consumers’ purchase intention.” Essentially, Apple is betting that its customers will want to have the ability to take advantage of the wide range of 5G networks, and that they’ll pay a bit more for it.

Source: The Verge

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TikTok owner ByteDance confirms plans to produce a smartphone

TikTok owner ByteDance has confirmed previous reports that it plans to produce a smartphone after making a deal with Smartisan earlier this year in which it acquired a number of its patents and employees. In comments given to Reuters, a spokesperson from the company described the phone as “a continuation of earlier Smartisan plans, aiming to satisfy the needs of the old Smartisan user base.”

It’s not exactly surprising that ByteDance is considering entering another product category, especially since it has already expanded into messaging and is reportedly thinking about launching a music streaming service. Previous reports suggested that both of these apps would come preinstalled on ByteDance’s phone alongside TikTok, the app behind the company’s explosive growth.

Previous attempts by mainly service-based companies to move into hardware haven’t gone especially well. Facebook never made a follow-up to the phone it produced in collaboration with HTC, and the less that’s said about the Amazon Fire Phone, the better. There’s also the continued question about the role of Chinese companies in producing smartphones for a global audience, as well as the difficulties experienced by TikTok in its international expansion. Still, ByteDance’s seemingly overnight international success with TikTok means we wouldn’t put it past the company to find a way to make its phone work.