New Retina MacBook Pro 2016 release date, specs, rumours UK: Apple expected to launch new product line in June

When will the next MacBook Pro for 2016 come out? The Pro line-up is due for an update, isn’t it?

We think there could be new MacBook Pro models pretty soon. There are two sizes of MacBook Pro models available from Apple right now: a 13in model, which was last updated in March 2015, and a 15in model, last updated in May 2015. We had hoped for new MacBook Pro models on 21 March at Apple’s Spring event, but Apple didn’t mention Macs at all. You’ll find everything there is to know so far about new MacBook Pro 2016 models in this release date, specs and features rumour round-up.

Updated 7 April 2016 with general updates.

MacBook Pro 2016 UK release date: When is the new MacBook Pro coming out?

We had hoped for a new MacBook Pro at Apple’s 21 March launch event. Instead, we saw a new iPhone SE, iPad Pro with a smaller screen and new Apple Watch straps. Those things are all great, of course, but if you were after a new MacBook Pro then you’re out of luck.

Apple often launches new laptops at this time of year, and the 13in MacBook Pro model was last updated a year ago. (The 15in version is slightly younger.) Perhaps there will be a separate Mac event soon; perhaps we will have to wait until WWDC (Worldwide Developers’ Conference) on 13 June.

MacBook Pro 2016 UK price: How much will the new MacBook Pro cost?

Currently the cheapest Retina MacBook Pro costs £999. For the price you’ll get a 13in 2.7Ghz OS X machine that has 128GB of storage.

Prices go up in increments with £1199 and £1399 for the more feature rich 13in variants. The 15in model comes in two variants, a 2.2Ghz £1599 version and a 2.5Ghz £1999 variant.

We expect the new 2016 MacBook Pro to be launched in June at similar, if not identical prices of the current models.

MacBook Pro 2016 specs & hardware: What new features will the new MacBook Pro have?

The new MacBook Pro models are likely to feature Skylake processors, the new, sixth generation chips by Intel. Right now, none of Apple’s MacBooks offer Skylake so it’s highly likely that Apple plans to address this soon. Skylake will bring significant performance gains to the new MacBook Pro, too, making it an even faster machine.

Competitors including HP, Dell and Microsoft have already moved to Skylake, so Apple is beginning to look like it’s trailing behind.

Skylake could improve battery life, too, working with El Capitan to improve efficiency. The 13in Retina MacBook Pro already offers 10 hours of battery life and the 15in model offers 8 hours, but we’d like to see that improve to match the 12 and 9 hours offered by the MacBook Air.

The 15in models of the MacBook Pro currently offer quad-core i7 processors, which means they compare very favourably with the 27in iMacs. We hope that the 2016 model maintains these quad-core processors, but when the Mac mini was updated in October of 2014 it lost its quad-core processor options, which could spell the same fate for the MacBook Pro.

One MacBook Pro rumour doing the rounds goes as far as to say that the 2016 models will have a touchscreen, and that it might even be detachable from the screen a lot like the Surface Book. We’d be very surprised if this rumour is true, but anything’s possible.

In fact, we’re not expecting the design of the MacBook Pro to change much, if at all. It’s possible that a gold model will be launched, but Apple might reserve that for the12in MacBook, which could also see an update in March.

[Source:- Macworld]