2021 MacBook Pro will get rid of the Touch Bar and bring back MagSafe, reports say

Apple is planning a major overhaul of the MacBook Pro for the third quarter of 2021, according to a research note written by TF International Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo and reported by MacRumors, 9to5Macand Apple Insider. Kuo calls it the first major MacBook Pro redesign since the introduction of the current generation in 2016. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg followed up on a report that corroborates many of the same details.

The new MacBook Pro is said to have square sides, like the iPad Pro and iPhone 12; the current laptop already has sharp edges, but it looks like the top and bottom panels will also be flatter than before. The new model will come in 14 and 16 inch sizes, both with Arm processors designed by Apple, without Intel options. Kuo says laptops will use a heat pipe system similar to the current 16-inch MacBook Pro, giving more thermal space and allowing for better performance. Bloomberg reports that the new models will have “brighter and more contrast-enhanced” screens.

Perhaps most notably, Kuo believes that the new Pro laptops will step back in some of the controversial changes that Apple has made with the current generation. The OLED Touch Bar, for example, is said to have been completely replaced by physical function keys. Kuo also says that there will be a wider range of ports reducing the need for dongles, although he is not specific. And a MagSafe magnetic charging connector is also configured to return. (It is unclear whether it will have anything in common with the new MagSafe accessory system for the iPhone 12.)

A new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Apple’s M1 processor just launched in November, but the model had hardware almost identical to Intel’s existing version. If Kuo is to be believed – and his track record suggests so – the next models could be a big improvement.

Update, January 15, 2:45 pm: Mention added to Bloomberg’s subsequent report.