Apple will align the design of its MacBook Pro and iPhone series this year, according to a new report. The change will see 2021 MacBook Pros with a flatter design, albeit one with rounded corners. Apple is expected to release at least a new 16-inch MacBook Pro this year, which could also be the first ARM-based MacBook that supports MagSafe charging.
Ming-Chi Kuo is back at it with his predictions about the next MacBook Pro. Last month, Kuo claimed that Apple would omit the Touch Bar from the next MacBook Pro as part of a series redesign. This redesign would include a return for MagSafe charging, which is not to be confused with the MagSafe that Apple integrated within the iPhone 12 series. Apple began discontinuing MagSafe for Macs in 2016, but it took the company until 2019 to expunge MagSafe from its Mac product stack.
Now, Kuo reportedly claims that the next MacBook Pro will share its design with the iPhone 12 series. Quoted by MacRumors, Kuo reputedly stated the following in a recent investor note:
In terms of casing design, the new models [MacBook Pro] cancel the curvy design of existing models’ top and bottom parts and adopt a flat-edged form factor design similar to the iPhone 12.
Incidentally, Mark Gurman insists that any design changes will be minor, and that the next MacBook Pro generation would broadly resemble the current models. Adopting a flatter design would not be a radical departure from Apple’s current designs, in our opinion, so both Gurman and Kuo could be true in this regard.
However, Kuo also predicts that 2021 will mark the SD card reader’s return for the MacBook Pro, a notable absentee from recent generations of Apple’s premium laptops. Apple is expected to announce a refreshed 16-inch MacBook Pro this year, along with the long-awaited 14-inch model. It is unknown when Apple will do so, at this stage.
