Apple could drop the 15-inch MacBook Pro

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2019 MacBook Pro
The already slender MacBook bezels could nearly disappear in the 16-inch version.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s next MacBook Pro will reportedly fit a 16-inch screen into the same size chassis as the current 15-inch model. An industry analyst says Apple plans to take the logical step and drop the smaller screen option.

This would keep Apple’s laptop lineup simple, with just 13-inch or 16-inch MacBook Pros, and a 13-inch MacBook Air.

No more 15-inch MacBook Pro

The latest 16-inch MacBook Pro prediction comes from Jeff Lin, an analyst with IHS Markit. His sources in Apple’s supply chain say Cupertino will replace its largest laptop soon. “I am pretty sure that MacBook 15.4 [inch] will be EOL,” he said. “We think 15.4 [inch] MacBook volumes will shift to 16 [inch].”

Don’t get confused. The 15-inch MacBook Pro Apple offers now actually features a 15.4-inch screen.

The 16-inch version will begin production in September, according to Lin. Manufacture of the smaller-screened model will supposedly end in November. That might seem surprising, considering Apple just updated it in May.

The newer model reportedly will pack a 3072-by-1920-pixel LCD display, with a resolution of 227 pixels per inch. The current 15-inch model features with a 2880-by-1800-pixel, 220 ppi display.

Other 16-inch MacBook Pro details

Apple’s largest macOS laptop in years will use Intel Coffee Lake-H Refresh processors, according to the IHS Markit analyst. These ninth-generation chips, which debuted in the spring, power the 15-inch MacBook Pro that launched a few months ago. (That’s the one Apple supposedly will discontinue soon.) The 15-inch model comes with six-core i7 or eight-core i9 processors.

The upcoming 16-inch MacBook Pro also might ditch Apple’s controversial butterfly keyboard in favor of a more reliable design.

Via: Forbes

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