Apple has already captured the attention of the laptop market with the power of the M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pro machines. Tim Cook and his teams are not finished yet, as the latest details about the upcoming premium MacBooks prove. The screens are getting brighter, and bigger.
Attendees view new MacBook Pro laptop computers during an event at Apple Inc. headquarters in ... [+]
The newly announced iPad Pro uses mini LED technology, and as expected Apple has loaded up the buzzwords to brand it the Extreme Dynamic Range XDR screen. Mini LED screens are expected to show up in a number of Apple products this year, with the MacBook Pro family on the list.
Well you can push two of the MacBook models higher up on that list.
The latest report from the Taiwan-based research company TrendForce has taken a closer look at Apple’s plans for its mini LED products. In regards the MacBook it states that the new macOS laptops will feature the XDR technology, and Apple’s dominant position as a thought leader will set mini LED as the expected spec for premium tablets and laptops across the market.
The report also backs up another detail… just how big these new MacBooks will be:
"With regards to Apple’s plans for 2H21, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook models will likewise feature Mini LED backlight technology, which will become the hardware benchmark for high-end tablets and notebook computers."
2019 saw Apple bump the then flagship 15-inch MacBook Pro up to 16 inches with very little difference in the physical footprint thanks to the shrinking bezels and more compact design of the screen. Since then, the two subsequent launches of the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro machines (the final Intel hurrah in March 2020, and the M1 debut in October 2020), the geekerati has been waiting for the 13-inch screen to jump up to the 14-inch screen.
Well you can push the larger ‘small’ models higher up on the list as well.
With the M1-equipped Macs all reprinting the lower tiered laptops (specifically the MacBook Air but also the entry-level MacBook Pro), there was always the question on how Apple would differentiate the products; after all with the specs and performance numbers the M1 chip is putting out, you couldn’t see the top-end macBook Pros as ‘faster and more powerful’ when the average consumer will have an excess of power with the M1 laptops.
It looks like the answer will be in upgrading the screen. If you want to see all the power in the best possible view, you’re going to need to see it on an XDR screen.
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