Apple Expected To Reveal Refreshed MacBooks At WWDC 2017

Rumours are about that Apple is planning on updating its laptop line up as its World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June.

Bloomberg reported that people “familiar with the matter” claimed that rather than simply focus on software, the staple of WWDC, the Cupertino company will unveil a trio of laptops.

The sources point towards a tweaked MacBook Pro sporting Intel’s latest 7th generation Kaby Lake processors, a refreshed MacBook line and potentially an updated 13 inch MacBook Air; the latter two have not been updated since 2015, while the MacBook Pro saw a through overhaul and hefty price hike last year.

Modernising Macs

Apple is also rumoured to be making its low-powered ARM-based chips, the kind found in iPhones and iPads, for its MacBook Pro range, but all signs point for its in-house chip to not be ready for the supposed refresh next month.

Putting an ARM-based chipset in a MacBook Pro would seem an odd move given they are low-powered chips in comparison to the Intel Core i series CPUs MacBooks usually sport, but rigorous customisation on top of ARM’s chip architecture and macOS optimisation could yield MacBooks with enough power for most tasks but also exploit the battery-life extending attributes of chips with lower power demands.

If Apple is indeed planning on revealing a refreshed laptop line, there is a good chance it could show off tweaked Mac Pro and iMac desktop machines as well, given neither have had a thorough overhaul for some time.

With stiff competition in the laptop world from the likes of HP, Dell, and now Microsoft with the recently showcased Surface Laptop, Apple has its work cut out if it wants to keep people interested in MacBooks beyond a bias towards macOS over Windows 10.

We will have to wait a few weeks until we find out what Apple has in store at WWDC 2017, but we would hazard a guess that Cupertino still has a few surprises up its sleeve.

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