Late 2020 16" MacBook Pro Predictions

[quaccOS]

I was hoping to buy a future-proofed & maxed-out MacBook Pro (with the best GPU) for starting university this fall.
I felt the 16" released back in November was only a warm-up for something really big for 2020. I imagined a no-bezels miniLED 14.1" display with a new deca-core i9 CPU, paired with the best AMD GPU on offer and maybe even FaceID and legacy ports?.
I want a portable Mac with a powerhouse GPU…which means one automatically has to step-up to the 16 inch

Then Apple announces the transition to Apple Silicon…which has left me in the dark.
Is it a waste to buy Intel now? Is Bootcamp gone for good? Will Rosetta 2 make everything seamless?
Way too many unanswered questions.
People's advice are "Buy what you need now" or "Do you even need that power? Are you even pro?" —
which isn't helpful for people that want to future-proof and have an unpredictable financial situation that goes up & down

• MacBookPro 7,1 ➜ MacBookPro 17,1
• 13.3-inch, Mid 2010 glossy LCD display ➜ 16-inch, Late 2020 miniLED display
• macOS 10.16 Beta 1 patched ➜ macOS 11 Big Sur
• 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (Penryn) ➜ Apple A14 or Intel i9 deca-core, up to 5.3 GHz
• NVIDIA GeForce 320M 256 MB ➜ AMD 5700M 8 GB HBM2
• 8 GB DDR3 ➜ 16 GB DDR4
• 240 GB SSD ➜ 1TB SSD

It's fun patching my 10-year old MBP…but I just want to upgrade to something stable & long-lasting.
I get very attached to my computer. This is still my first & only computer…

 

[alexfc]

This is all speculation of what seems reasonable in my point of view, so take everything with a grain of salt:

1) I think ARM architecture will be released first for non-Pro MacBooks. Apple will either revive the MacBook or use the MacBook Air for it, at least on 2020. After that, for 2021, they will probably release an ARM for the Pro's, starting with the new 14” (now 13”), featuring probably other stuff like a redesign, maybe a Mini-LED display and Face ID. Then, maybe in 2022, there will be enough development for ARM to surpass Intel's latest processors that would power the 16” MacBooks, and we would finally see the ARM 16” MacBooks, maybe with a Mini-LED display, Face ID and redesigned.

2) I wouldn’t trust the first gen ARM and Mini-LED display machines and since I’m thinking about a 2022 release (for the 16”), I’d probably wait for 2024 to buy my first ARM, but that’s me.

Again, I’m probably wrong about all of that. Maybe they already have an ARM architecture that surpasses the best Intel's by far, but that’s my point of view, for now.

 

[quaccOS]

This is all speculation of what seems reasonable in my point of view, so take everything with a grain of salt:

1) I think ARM architecture will be released first for non-Pro MacBooks. Apple will either revive the MacBook or use the MacBook Air for it, at least on 2020. After that, for 2021, they will probably release an ARM for the Pro's, starting with the new 14” (now 13”), featuring probably other stuff like a redesign, maybe a Micro-LED display and Face ID. Then, maybe in 2022, there will be enough development for ARM to surpass Intel's latest processors that would power the 16” MacBooks, and we would finally see the ARM 16” MacBooks, maybe with a Micro-LED display, Face ID and redesigned.

2) I wouldn’t trust the first gen ARM and Micro-LED display machines and since I’m thinking about a 2022 release (for the 16”), I’d probably wait for 2024 to buy my first ARM, but that’s me.

Again, I’m probably wrong about all of that. Maybe they already have an ARM architecture that surpasses the best Intel's by far, but that’s my point of view, for now.

That sounds right. I feel like their ARM CPU performance will either match or beat Intel's…but in terms of GPU, it all has to come from the single A14 chip. An AMD dGPU will probably still have way better performance.

The question for the present is:
Is there another Intel 16" refresh in the pipeline for the fall?
Intel released an octa-core i9 processer that can turbo boost up to 5.3 GHz (and it has WiFi 6).

I don't know if to buy a 2019 16-inch with the new Radeon Pro 5600M (8GB HBM2) build-to-order option, or wait for a final Intel Mac in October/November.

MacRumors Buyers Guide says caution on the 16" MBP.

MacRumors Buyer's Guide: Know When to Buy iPhone, Mac, iPad

This page provides a product summary for each Apple model. The intent is to provide our best recommendations regarding current product cycles, and to provide a summary of currently available rumors for each model. This page is based on rumors and speculation and we provide no guarantee to its...

buyersguide.macrumors.com

 

[chefwong]

Just reading this thread....do I accept delivery or refuse delivery of my 16" MBP I ordered - scheduled for delivery tomorrow !

I've got loads of PC's - Yoga 13 and XPS 15.....I'm always grabbing my late 2013 MBP. Have ordered the 2020 MBP 13 and cancelled it, did not want buyers remorse.

I tend to grab my MBP much more than than my PC's. Between WFH and just working in general (seems like I'm working much harder and longer than before March 2020), so I've been sorta hemming/hawing on upgrading the Mac I'm using...

My late 2013 was maxed out on 16gb/1TB so it's pretty speedy in general

 

[quaccOS]

Just reading this thread....do I accept delivery or refuse delivery of my 16" MBP I ordered - scheduled for delivery tomorrow !

I've got loads of PC's - Yoga 13 and XPS 15.....I'm always grabbing my late 2013 MBP. Have ordered the 2020 MBP 13 and cancelled it, did not want buyers remorse.

I tend to grab my MBP much more than than my PC's. Between WFH and just working in general (seems like I'm working much harder and longer than before March 2020), so I've been sorta hemming/hawing on upgrading the Mac I'm using...

My late 2013 was maxed out on 16gb/1TB so it's pretty speedy in general

Your Mac natively supports Big Sur (macOS 11), releasing to the public this fall. Unless you need extra power, the only things you'll notice when upgraded are the Touch Bar, Touch ID, True Tone, and lack of legacy I/O ports (only USB-C).

2016 to 2019 Macs have the sh*tty butterfly key switches, and pre-2013 Macs won't support Big Sur. If you don't need extra speed, you can use the time to make a better decision since your Mac is supported.

Edit: Redirect the 16" to me
I'm patching my 13" 2010 MBP for Big Sur and it's really difficult. 2013 Macs probably won't be supported in 2021 though…for macOS Ventura 11.1…my guess.

Oh WFH is working from home. Well, maybe you might appreciate some new tech. If you can afford it, probably buy a nice Mac. I used to borrow computers at work…but now we can't do anything like that anymore.
You deserve a fast Mac if you're doing lots of work.

 

[chefwong]

The only gain I will get aside is the 32gb memory on the MBP16 , which is a ++ when launching a VM.
It works okay on my current MBP, just not as much headroom.

Who thinks with the current WFH, and the state of affairs, manuf. will figure out a way to cram a 1080 Webcam on a laptop.

I've actually had to setup one of my -rooms- with a desktop, yeti mic and a good 1080 cam and some good lighting for those back to back zoom calls

 

[Yebubbleman]

If you need it now, get it now.

The 10th Generation Intel H series i9 that would be suitable to replace the 9th Generation Intel H series chip that was in the 2019 15" and is in the 2019 16" is out now. I wouldn't be surprised to see Apple give the 16" MacBook Pro one last Intel update. I think it could be awkward for them to do so AFTER transitioning the 13" model to ARM. But I don't know that an ARM 16" MacBook Pro will be ready this year. I doubt it. I also doubt that we'll ever see an Intel 16" MacBook Pro with 11th Generation Intel H series processors.

It's hard to say though.

It IS probably safe to say that no ARM based Macs will be released prior to the release of the Intel version of Big Sur, given that is going to be the first version supporting ARM.

 

[smoking monkey]

I'm hoping for an ARM 16 late this year, but I'm guessing it won't come until April next year. I think we'll get an ARM 13 and Air later this year. IF they put out a 14 Arm I might think about getting that, but I'd really like the 16. Not for power but for real estate. I mainly work in Pages and Keynote and those two apps take up a lot of on screen real estate.

 

[ascender]

I’m thinking its going to be a speed bump if anything this year and then ARM MBPs next year. Although I guess it really depends on how quickly the first ARM laptop lands.

 

[chefwong]

I'll have to check the sub-forums for threads that probably. Granted there is a huge existing base of x86 out there. I don't have much knowledge on the former ppc-x86, but where do you guys think how the software devel. or support will be moving forward once ARM is full fledge in year 3/year 4 from now.

 

[PharmlyDoc]

I still think it makes sense for Apple to release an MBP 16 inch with intel core 11th generation (tiger lake architecture). Acer is releasing a laptop in the coming months with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor (TigerLake 11th gen). There is no way Apple can let another laptop be more powerful than its topline MacBook pro. Hopefully, the Macbook pro will get a custom Intel Core 11th gen CPU.

 

[jbachandouris]

Honestly, I'm not sure how this Apple silicon will pan out. At this point, they're just sticking their toes in the water. With such a huge market for bootcamp/Intel, are they really betting all in that their chips will be better? Time will tell.

 

[magbarn]

I still think it makes sense for Apple to release an MBP 16 inch with intel core 11th generation (tiger lake architecture). Acer is releasing a laptop in the coming months with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor (TigerLake 11th gen). There is no way Apple can let another laptop be more powerful than its topline MacBook pro. Hopefully, the Macbook pro will get a custom Intel Core 11th gen CPU.

You do realize that’s a quad core only chip? Apple isn’t going to use that chip in a mbp 16. There’s no definite timeline yet for 6-8 core intel 10nm.

by the time intel gets off their butts and makes a decent 6-8 core 10nm chip, the mbp 16 will be arm.

 

[Appledoesnotlisten]

Do you think Apple will fix the heat issues with an external monitor?