Apple is expected to launch new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple Silicon chips in late 2021, increasing pressure on Intel, as well as driving growth in the laptop market share.
Taiwan-based research firm TrendForce says that while the Apple M1 chip was officially launched in November 2020, its market share reached just 0.8% at the end of that year. The first M1 Macs included a 13-inch MacBook Pro, a MacBook Air and a Mac mini.
The pair of MacBook Pro models equipped with Apple’s proprietary CPU could reach the company’s CPU market share by up to 7%, TrendForce estimates. This, together with an increase in AMD’s share, can put increasing pressure on Intel.
TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo previously predicted that the new 14-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with Apple chips could arrive in the second or third quarter of 2021.
Apple itself said that the transition to Apple Silicon, first announced in June 2020, would take about two years. Other models of the Apple Silicon Mac that are in development include new variants of the iMac, Mac Pro and iMac Pro.
The M1 chip has been well received since its launch in 2020 and has offered performance that beats even Intel’s high-end chips. The M1 on the 13-inch MacBook Pro, for example, is almost as fast as a 16-inch MacBook Pro model with an Intel CPU.
In late 2020, Intel was urged to make major changes or explore strategic options in the face of increasing competition from chip makers,