Apple’s much-rumored 16-inch MacBook Pro could be revealed as soon as this week. Supply chain checks by IDC analyst Jitesh Ubrani and Forbes contributor Brooke Crothers indicate production is underway, and a 9to5Mac report says Apple appears to be holding private press briefings this week in New York City.
“We were expecting an announcement in October,” Ubrani said in an email, according to Crothers. While October came and went without an announcement, Ubrani says that his firm is “starting to see early signs” of the new notebook within Apple’s supply chain. “However, the timing of this is still uncertain,” he said.
Crothers says he had heard similar rumblings, writing that “a source in Asia who talks to the Apple supply chain told me over the weekend that the 16-inch [MacBook Pro] is in production but the release date is unclear.”
Meanwhile, the 9to5Mac report by Zac Hall says that Apple has a dedicated location in New York City where the company occasionally holds private briefings with members of the press to reveal products and give them hands-on time with the products.
Hall says there are indications exactly that is happening this week, as Apple is holding private press meetings at the start of this week, suggesting that we could see a public announcement later this week.
The 16-inch MacBook Pro is expected to feature slimmer bezels around the display, allowing for a larger screen in a similar form factor to the 15-inch MBPro model. The new MacBook Pro is also expected to boast a more reliable scissor switch keyboard, a standalone Touch ID sensor, and possibly a physical Esc key. Pricing is currently unknown.
