Apple’s MacBook Pro models with the M4 chip are at this point strongly rumored for an imminent launch, and another piece of evidence has surfaced to reinforce this idea.
This is chatter from the supply chain disclosed by DigiTimes (in report about the notebook market in general, flagged up by MacRumors).
DigiTimes informs us: “Apple is expected to unveil new MacBook Pro models equipped with the latest M4 chip in October, which could boost related component shipments. This trend is evident in the revenue reports from component manufacturers such as Jarllytec and Shin Zu Shing for September.”
The most recent rumors align with the late October launch mentioned here – which should mean we get the press invites being sent out by Apple very soon indeed – and this would come ahead of a November 1 on-sale date, theoretically.
If the info from the grapevine is correct, we can expect MacBook Pro, Mac mini and iMac models with M4 chips to be launched at the end of the month. Next year, it’ll be the turn of the MacBook Air to get an M4 makeover, plus the Mac Pro and Mac Studio – in theory, anyway.
Analysis: A veritable avalanche of leaks
Who are the companies mentioned in this most recent supply chain leak, then? Jarllytec is a Taiwan-based outfit that makes notebook hinge mechanisms (fancy ones), and has supplied for MacBooks before (for a long time in fact). Shin Zu Shing also provides components for Apple’s laptops (and reportedly recently benefited from a shift in Apple’s ordering where the firm ditched a previous supplier).
So, apparently the respective revenue sheets for those companies make for some telling hints regarding the imminent arrival of MacBook Pro M4 models, presumably due to beefy shipments of various related components.
There are plenty of other signs that a MacBook Pro launch is imminent, including a rather staggering flood of M4 MacBook Pro leaks which include a whole bunch of spilled pictures and videos and even a report of the laptop being sold already on the black market. Also, current stock levels of the MacBook Pro (and other Macs) are reportedly ebbing away, as you’d expect just before the release of new models.
At this point, it’d be a serious surprise – a shock even – if the next-gen MacBook Pro didn’t turn up. After all, this is the device that’s been a lot more heavily rumored than the other M4 Macs Apple is expected to launch later in October. The not-so-great news for MacBook Pro fans is that not that many changes are expected in the new take on Apple’s laptop, aside from the addition of the M4 SoC, that is.
