Redesigned MacBook Pro Models May Not Ship to Customers Until Late 2021

The long-rumored and highly anticipated redesigned 16-inch MacBook Pro with Apple silicon will enter its phase of mass production in the first quarter of next year, according to industry sources cited in a paywalled DigiTimes report.

According to the report, the smaller 14-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ will enter "volume production" in the fourth quarter of this year, while the larger 16-inch model is aimed at the first quarter of next year. However, despite mass production for the laptops starting later in the year and next year, DigiTimes still reports that Apple will announce them in the second half of 2021.

Apple plans to release two miniLED-backlit MacBook Pro products - a 14-inch and a 16-inch - in the second half of 2021, noted the sources.

Judging from the supply of miniLED backlighting applications, volume production of the 14-inch MacBook Pro is likely to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021, and the 16-inch model will start in the first quarter of 2022, said the sources.

The scenario described by ‌DigiTimes‌ is reminiscent of the launch of the new M1 iPad Pro. The new iPad was announced in April but didn't begin shipping until the second half of May. Even then supply continues to remains tight, with some customers having to wait until July.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has previously noted that Apple could be planning to announce the new 14-inch and 16-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ as soon as early this summer. Apple will be holding its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 7, and ahead of the conference, some tenuous reports have suggested the MacBook Pros could be announced; however, those claims have yet to be backed up by reliable sources.