Apple to release first ARM-based MacBook Pro and MacBook Air by end of 2020

Apple’s first ARM-based MacBook models will ship by the end of 2020, according to Taiwanese supply chain publication DigiTimes.

In a new report today, the site claims suppliers of backlit units (BLUs) will begin shipping components for the new machines in the third quarter of the year, which ends in September ahead of the new models being made available to the public from September onwards.

The claims follow after leading Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said earlier this week that a redesigned 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with a form factor similar to the current 13.3-inch ‌MacBook Pro would launch this year ahead of an all-new 14-inch and updated 16-inch MacBook Pro arriving in 2021.

As Apple is set to release 13-inch ‌MacBook Pro‌ and ‌MacBook Air‌, powered by Apple Silicon, by the end of this year, total shipments of MacBook lineup are expected to reach 16-17 million units in 2020 compared to 14.5-15.5 million units shipped a year earlier, the sources estimated.

The models would be the first to support the new Apple silicon processors first touted last month at WWDC.