At this point, it’s overwhelmingly clear that the butterfly keyboard design Apple introduced on its late-2016 MacBook Pro marks one of the low points in Apple design. Though Apple would go on to make iterative improvements to the design, the bottom line is that the slimmer keyboard design proved to be unreliable and prone to breaking if even the slightest particle happened to lodge itself underneath a key.
The good news is that Apple is reportedly planning to launch a slew of new MacBook models with the older scissor mechanism keyboard, including a revamped MacBook Pro with a 16-inch display.
While rumors of a new MacBook Pro have been making the rounds over the past few weeks, we now have more concrete evidence that a refresh is on the horizon. Earlier this week, MacGeneration discovered a new icon in a recently released macOS Catalina beta which seems to corroborate rumors that Apple has been working on a new MacBook Pro model. The unearthed icon can be seen below:
While the laptop pictured above doesn’t look all that different from the current 15-inch MacBook Pro, MacGeneration notes that “if you take a closer look, you’ll notice that the borders around the screen are slightly thinner.” It therefore stands to reason that the rumored MacBook Pro will essentially offer users a bit more screen real estate without a noticeably larger form factor than the current 15-inch MacBook Pro.
Other MacBook Pro rumors point to Apple including a 96W USB-C charger, a 3072×1920 display, and a hefty sticker price of $2900. Though Apple traditionally introduces new computer hardware in October, it remains to be seen if Apple will hold a special media event this month or if it will quietly roll out a revamped MacBook Pro without a lot of fanfare.
As a final point, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently issued an investor note claiming that the entirety of Apple’s MacBook line will transition back to the scissor-style keyboard design in 2020.
