Apple Silicon MacBook Pro and MacBook Air will ship by end of 2020

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16-inch MacBook Pro from 2019
Are you excited about the first Apple Silicon MacBooks?
Photo: Apple

Apple will release its first MacBook Pro and MacBook Air powered by Apple Silicon by the end of 2020, a report published Thursday claims.

According to Digitimes, Apple manufacturers will start shipping components such as backlit units (BLUs) for the next-gen MacBooks in the third quarter of 2020. That could be any time between now and September.

Apple Silicon MacBooks forthcoming

If Digitimes is correct, that would peg the release date for the laptops as slightly sooner than expected. Reliable TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that Apple’s first Apple Silicon-based MacBook Air could arrive in late 2020 or early 2021. He also predicted that the first MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon will arrive by the end of this year.

Apple announced the switch from Intel CPUs to ARM-based Apple Silicon at WWDC 2020. During June’s virtual keynote, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, showed a Mac running on the Apple A12Z processor from the 2020 iPad Pro.

Components for a new iPad are on the way as well

Today’s report from Digitimes also says that components will soon ship for the next iPad. This will be a 10.8-inch iPad “available at more affordable prices,” the publication’s sources indicate. TF International’s Kuo previously said Apple’s 10.8-inch iPad and an upcoming 9-inch iPad mini will offer an, “affordable price tag and the adoption of fast” chips. That makes them sound similar to the new iPhone SE.

Digitimes writes:

“Taiwan’s BLU supplier Radiant Opto-Electronics is ready to ship BLUs for both the new MacBook and iPad devices, while panel makers including LG Display, BOE Technology and Sharp will supply panels for the iPad, the sources said.”

Which upcoming Apple devices are you most excited about? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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