Find out what could be in store for the MacBook Pro in 2018. Here are all the rumours about the MacBook Pro 2018's release date, specs, price and more
Apple last updated the MacBook Pro line on 7 June at WWDC 2017that its Pro laptops have been upgraded to faster Kaby Lake processors - the refresh came just eight months after the launch of the Touch Bar MacBook Pro in October 2016. But not everyone was happy with the update.Many fans had been hoping that the RAM cap would be lifted to 32GB, and there were also rumours of an Apple-designed chip to improve low-power performance mode, which did not materialise. In this article, which will be regularly updated, we examine some of the rumours about the 2018 MacBook Pro.
In November 2017 Apple's head of design Jony Ive admitted to being aware of the disappointment and criticism regarding the MacBook models .
Speaking at Smithsonian Magazine's Future of Design event in Washington DC in December, (listen to the recording here), Ive said: "Absolutely, all of your feelings and feedback around the MacBook you use, we couldn't want to listen to more... And we hear - boy, do we hear."
You can read more about the current MacBook Pros here - 2017 13inch MacBook Pro review and 2017 15inch MacBook Pro review. We also have a comparison of the two models and a comprehensive Mac buying guide.
2018 MacBook Pro: Design
Looks-wise we'd be very surprised if Apple made any significant departures from the new look unveiled in 2016. However, it's possible Apple may tinker with the colour options.
The MacBook Pro series currently comes in two colour finishes: silver and Space Grey, while the MacBook series is available in Gold and Rose Gold as well. Is the MacBook Pro ever likely to adopt the gold colour?
It's a possibility. But our prediction is that Apple will continue to offer gold as an option on its consumer-focused laptops, while keeping the more business-like silver and grey for the professional assistant .
2018 MacBook Pro: 4K Screen
The current MacBook Pro models have impressive screens: 2880 x 1800 on the 15.4in model , and 2560x1600 on the 13.3in one.
However, there are calls for Apple to increase the pixel count on the 15-inch MacBook Pro and offer a 4K display - something that Dell, HP, and Asus are already offering. Apple is lagging in this area.
In addition, while the 2016 and 2017 MacBook Pro can output the full DCI P3 colour space used for films for digital cinema output, as our colleague on Digital Arts notes in his review: "It's the Adobe RGB colour space that really matters as this is what's used internally by tools from Photoshop to Illustrator to Premiere Pro - and again here the MBP is lacking. In our tests with a DataColor Spyder5Elite colorimeter, we found that the MacBook Pro's screen can output 91 percent of the colours in the Adobe RGB."
In their tests Dell's Precision 5510 and the Wacom MobileStudio Pro could output 91 percent of the colours in the Adobe RGB. In the next version of the MacBook Pro we'd like to see an improvement here
2018 MacBook Pro: Processor
It seems likely that the next geneartion of MacBook Pro will run on the Cannon Lake processor. However, this processor was delayed, perhaps the reason why Apple was unable to launch a 32GB RAM MacBook in 2017.
2018 MacBook Pro: Battery
With Apple pointing to battery life as the reason it won't offer more RAM in the MacBook Pro you might be wondering whether there is room for improvements to battery life in the next model, or if battery life could (or should) suffer if Apple is to offer a truly pro-level machine.
The new Cannon Lake chips mentioned above could account for some reduction in power consumption.
2018 MacBook Pro: Graphics
The MacBook Pro graphics differ depending on whether you have a 13- or 15-inch MacBook Pro. The 15in models currently offer the Radeon Pro 555 or 560 (replacing the Radeon Pro 455). We expect a similar bump from the 2018 generation of MacBook Pro.
2018 MacBook Pro: Touch Bar
Will all the MacBook Pro models offer a Touch Bar in 2018? If Apple fails to roll out the touch sensitive bar across the top of the keyboardto any other Macs, we feel it will be an indicator that the Touch Bar isn't a popular feature.
We feel that the Touch Bar is a bit of a gimmic, and the fact that Apple hasn't rolled it out to any other Macs to date means that developers aren't updating their apps to support it.
2018 MacBook Pro: Keyboard
There have been reports of the keyboard on the MacBooks being easily broken. One report explained how a tiny spec of dust could render a keyboard useless so that the whole front of the MacBook needed to be replaced. Hopefully Apple will address this issue in the next MacBook Pro.
2018 MacBook Pro: Ports
When Apple launched the new MacBook Pro many of the familiar ports disappeared replaced by USB-C/Thunderbolt 3. The headphone jack remained despite being lost from the iPhone and iPad. Will it remain in the next version of the MacBook Pro? Possibly, although Apple could choose to swap it for Lightning or another USB Type-C/Thunderbolt 3 port in the future.
Another possibility is that if Apple is able to reduce the size of the circuit board inside the MacBook Pro it could add more ports. Apple may be looking to integrate faster and more versatile circuit boards into the MacBook design - according to KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, this could save a lot of internal space, making it possible for Apple to add USB 3.2 and other I/O connections to its MacBooks.
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