We had expected to see two new MacBook Pros this year, the 14-inch MacBook Pro 2021 and the 16-inch MacBook Pro 2021. However, that date may need to be changed to next year.

According to a paid article in Digitimes, mass production of the new MacBook Pro "may have to be pushed back to Q4 2021 or Q1 2022. And based on this production schedule, the new MacBook Pro will reportedly not be released until 2022.

The release date for the new MacBook Pro was previously set for the second half of this year.

According to Digitimes sources, one factor is the "sudden surge" of COVID infections in Taiwan. However, the supply of mini LED displays also appears to be tight.

The iPad Pro 2021 is the first mobile device in Apple's lineup to feature a mini LED display, a feature that has multiple advantages: the 12.9-inch panel utilizes 10,000 LEDs to deliver up to 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness and million-to-one contrast ratio.

Presumably, the 14- and 16-inch displays on the new MacBook Pro will offer similar benefits, especially in photography and video editing, although both models may be delayed into next year.

According to Digitimes, production of the 12.9-inch mini LED iPad Pro has started a quarter later than originally planned due to supply issues from Ennostar. Apparently, the delay in the start of iPad Pro production has "delayed" support for the new MacBook Pro.

According to Digitimes, low-volume production of the 14-inch MacBook Pro will begin in the third quarter of this year, with mass production not starting until the fourth quarter; the 16-inch MacBook Pro will not go into mass production until the first quarter of 2022; the iPad Pro will not go into mass production until the second quarter of 2022; and the iPad Pro will not go into mass production until the third quarter of 2022.

This is not the only upgrade to the new MacBook Pro. Previous reports have indicated that MagSafe charging will return to the MacBook Pro, and an HDMI port and SD card slot will be added. These are welcome enhancements for those who have despised the dongle life for the past few years.

Internally, the new MacBook Pro is said to be extremely powerful with Apple's new Apple M2 chip, which will be manufactured in a 4nm process and will reportedly have 12 CPU cores, four more than the current M1. It will have eight cores for high-performance tasks and four cores for less demanding tasks.

In addition, the M1 chip's 7- to 8-core GPU will be augmented to 16 cores in the M2. This should result in a significant increase in graphics power and very impressive gameplay in mainstream titles.

It is not at all clear from this preliminary report whether Apple will delay the notebook altogether or simply refrain from rolling out a mini LED display this year. since Digitimes' track record on rumors is mixed, we are not ruling out a mini LED MacBook this year. We are not going to rule out a mini-LED MacBook this year.

We will check the magazine's full report tomorrow and report any new information.