Mystery MacBooks pop up in Eurasian database

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The days when you could get a 17-inch MacBook Pro like this one could be returning.
A rumored replacement for 2012’s 17-inch MacBook Pro might have just appeared in a regulatory body’s database.
Photo: Apple

Much-anticipated additional 2019 MacBooks have apparently just shown up in a Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) database.

There are seven variations listed, one of which could be the super-size model a trusted analyst says is on the way.

Seven additional 2019 MacBook model numbers

The ECC lists models A2141, A2147, A2158, A2159, A2179, A2182 and A2251, as spotted by the French website Consomac. These are not model numbers for any current device.

The database describes them as “Portable personal computers of the trademark ‘Apple’”, so these are clearly unannounced MacBooks. The “speed bump” macOS notebook just released isn’t one of them.

The EEC holds sway in several countries, such as Russia, Belarus, Armenia and more. Entries in its product database have given us early looks at Apple computers in the past, most recently the third-generation iPad Air.

How soon these 2019 MacBook models newly listed in the ECC database will be introduced is anyone’s guess, but the iPad Air 3 appeared there about two months before its official announcement.

Keep in mind, this isn’t an indication that Apple will release six completely different 2019 MacBook models.  The various configurations of the same device always get separate numbers

A microLED 16-inch MacBook Pro?

In February, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo with TF International Securities predicted the release of Apple’s biggest MacBook since 2012 — between 16 inches and 16.5 inches in size. This was expected before the end of this year, and could be one of the devices in the Eurasian database.

However, Kuo later updated this prediction to be a screen somewhere between 15 inches and 17 inches. He also indicated this won’t be out until the first half of 2021.

The display in these upcoming models will supposedly use microLED technology. Like OLED, this new type of screen doesn’t require backlighting, while also offering an increased color range and higher resolution graphics. In addition, it requires less power than OLEDs.

This much-respected analyst builds his predictions around information gathered from sources in Apple’s component supply chain.

 

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