Apple opted not to host another press conference this year, as it was the case last October and in some of the previous years, even though the mid-September iPhone event didn’t reveal all the product launches we expected. Earlier this week, Apple quietly unveiled the brand new AirPods Pro that had been present in rumors for several months but said nothing about the Mac Pro, whose launch date is still a mystery, in spite of the professional desktop having been unveiled all the way back in June. Also, it’s unclear at this point whether Apple will go forward with other product launches this year, although leaks keep surfacing proof that Apple may have developed at least two products that are yet to be official, including the AirTags trackers and the 16-inch MacBook Pro — the iPad Pro might not get a refresh this year after all. The latest Apple leak gives us our best look at the 16-inch laptop, although it’s not a complete press render.
Digging through the code of macOS 10.15.1, 9to5Mac found the following image, which should depict the new MacBook Pro:
There’s nothing really in the photo that proves the device features a 16-inch display instead of a 15-inch one, but if you look carefully, you’ll notice an unusual Touch Bar design. The Touch ID sensor gets a separate button, rather than being incorporated into the Touch Bar as it’s the case with other models. While this is a significant design change, the overall aspect and size of the 16-inch device should feel very familiar.
The revelation is very much in line with previous reports that said the new MacBook Pro will also feature a standalone, physical Escape key, which is something users really want. The Escape key, however, isn’t shown in this image.
9to5Mac points out that the previous icon that was found in a previous version of macOS Catalina, isn’t present anymore, which could be an indication that the 16-inch MacBook Pro might not launch in October, as some rumors were suggesting — well, October is almost over, with less than a day left in the month.
Apple has already refreshed the Air and Pro lines earlier this year, but the 16-inch model was supposed to deliver an even bigger display than before, packed inside the same chassis of the 15-inch model.
That said, Apple is still expected to kick off Mac Pro preorders at some point in the coming weeks, and might very well unveil new products, like the 16-inch laptop, should they be ready for mass consumption.
