Apple's forthcoming 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro are some of the most hotly anticipated laptops for Apple fans in recent memory with rumors of a significant redesign and the debut of a new higher-end Apple Silicon chip.
For those eagerly anticipating the new laptops, a new report from Nikkei Asia indicates that production on "two new MacBook laptops" has been pushed back from its original May to June timetable, but will still proceed sometime in the second half of 2021 (via AppleInsider).
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The specific models were not identified, leaving open the possibility that one of them is actually the new MacBook Air 2021, but that seems unlikely as most rumors have that laptop slated for the end of 2021 or early 2022.
This doesn't dramatically shift when we are expecting the new MacBook Pros. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had identified Q3 2021 as the launch target, so July to September, which also roughly aligned with the release prediction from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman of "mid-year." This suggests that the end of that timeframe would be the most likely option or that it could slip into early Q4.
The only thing to be aware of is that, given the magnitude of this laptop launch, Apple will want a separate event for it and won't want to step on the iPhone 13 release expected for late September. As we saw last fall, Apple isn't shy about throwing monthly events when called for, but it may mean pushing it to October or November to give the announcements some breathing room.
