KGI: Apple to release new 13-inch MacBook plus two MacBook Pros at next week’s event, new iMac & 5K Display coming next year

Reliable Apple analyst KGI has published a report on Saturday outlining their predictions for Apple’s Mac roadmap ahead of the media event on October 27th. The report says that Apple will launch three new MacBooks at the event, a new 13 inch MacBook, a new 13 inch MacBook Pro and a new 15 inch MacBook Pro.

It goes on to say that new iMacs and the Apple external display will not be shipping this year; those should be expected in the first half of 2017.

KGI does not know if Apple will announce early the new iMacs or new Cinema Display (detailed as having a 27 inch panel) at the event, but Ming-Chi Kuo seems confident that they are not ready to release. If you are waiting on a new Mac Pro, then the outlook is still murky: Kuo simply does not mention the product at all.

9to5Mac has previously reported that Apple is developing a new external 5K display with an integrated GPU. The news on what KGI does expect Apple to announce and ship is interesting, three new Mac laptops in total across two product lines.

The new Retina MacBook Pro, expected to include Touch ID, an OLED function row above the keyboard and new internals, will be debuting in both 13 inch and 15 inch screen sizes.

The new OLED screen panel is mocked up in our hero image above; rumor mill suggests the screen will show contextual commands and shortcuts depending on the currently-used app. A Macotakara report says the new laptops will feature only USB-C ports (backed by Thunderbolt 3) and will not use a MagSafe power connector for charging.

The KGI report says the new MacBook Pro will have “many” major upgrades, but does not go into specifics. It is not guaranteed that all the features will be necessarily available across both the 13 inch and 15 inch sizes. If Apple follows tradition, the highest-spec options will be reserved for the 15 inch form factor only. New MacBook Pros are long overdue; the currently-sold models use generations-old Broadwell chips.

The other product KGI says is coming is a new “13 inch MacBook”, as a successor to the 12 inch single-port Retina MacBook first released in 2015. By the way, this is not the first time that KGI has said that Apple is developing a 13 inch version of the Retina MacBook. KGI makes no mention of any changes to the MacBook Air line.

It would be somewhat strange to have both a 12 inch and a 13 inch Retina MacBook in Apple’s lineup simultaneously as they are so similar. Unfortunately, KGI does not elaborate about what the 13 inch MacBook might bring to the table that the 12 inch does not. Maybe the 13 inch version is more powerful, boasting better internal specs in a slightly larger total chassis.

I guess we’ll have to wait and see for Apple to announce these things for real at a media event on its campus this Thursday. If you believe KGI, we’ll see at least three new Mac products shipping by the end of the month including the long-awaited update to the MacBook Pros … which are likely to be the stars of the show. 9to5Mac will have full coverage of all the announcements as they happen.