Unannounced 2020 16-inch MacBook Pro referenced in Boot Camp update
Apple referenced an unreleased 2020 16-inch MacBook Pro in its Boot Camp Windows driver update, although the reference could be a case of mistaken identity.
16-inch MacBook Pro may be updated soon
Boot Camp is used to run operating systems like Windows and Linux on a Mac, and was updated to fix stability issues recently. The update's release notes, however, contain a reference to a machine that does not exist.
Apple is rumored to be hosting an Apple Silicon event soon, with the imminent release of Macs running the new processors being a potential sticking point to the rumor. Apple will likely hold an event in November to announce new Macs, though it is predicted that Apple will start on the low-end with the MacBook Air or Mac mini to be updated.
The update notes were noticed by MacRumors readers, who also noted that it is a potential mistake.
Rumors indicate Apple will update the iMac with a new design and Apple silicon, and release a new 14-inch MacBook Pro as well, but the timetable for those products are unknown. Macs running Apple Silicon will not run Boot Camp, so the update notes must reference an Intel machine.
16-inch MacBook Pro may be updated soon
Boot Camp is used to run operating systems like Windows and Linux on a Mac, and was updated to fix stability issues recently. The update's release notes, however, contain a reference to a machine that does not exist.
Apple released the 16-inch MacBook Pro in November 2019, and released a high-end graphics option in June 2020. Apple officially refers to both of these releases as the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro.The Boot Camp 6.1.13 update improves the compatibility of your Mac when running Windows through Boot Camp.This update:
- Improves audio recording quality when using the built-in microphone
- Fixes a stability issue that could occur during heavy CPU load on 16-inch MacBook Pro (2019 and 2020) and 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020)
Apple is rumored to be hosting an Apple Silicon event soon, with the imminent release of Macs running the new processors being a potential sticking point to the rumor. Apple will likely hold an event in November to announce new Macs, though it is predicted that Apple will start on the low-end with the MacBook Air or Mac mini to be updated.
The update notes were noticed by MacRumors readers, who also noted that it is a potential mistake.
Rumors indicate Apple will update the iMac with a new design and Apple silicon, and release a new 14-inch MacBook Pro as well, but the timetable for those products are unknown. Macs running Apple Silicon will not run Boot Camp, so the update notes must reference an Intel machine.
Comments
Two reasons I think 16" will be low priority:
- The GPU needs are far in excess of existing Apple A-series chips. A12X gets a 9000 metal compute score; Radeon Pro runs 38,000. Not impossible or even difficult (they can just throw more cores at it), but not nearly as straight-forward as a theoretical A14X either.
- Consumer demand is pretty low. Ten years ago most developers I knew were using 15" MBPs, but as the industry changed and legions of young graduates for "developer bootcamps" flooded the industry, there was a huge trend toward cheaper 13" machines. (source: pre-Covid, I spent a lot of time in co-working spaces and WeWorks, saw firsthand the shift from 15" to 13" computers. Still pretty popular among graphic designers and video editors but that's it.)
I'm betting on Fall 2021 for 16" ARM at the earliest.
I wish Apple Insider ran "fantasy football" style games regarding Apple releases… I've got a whole release schedule mapped out in my head, I wanna place bets
I expect that, if there is an update, it will still be Intel, probably 10th Gen. I'd like to see it with a beefed up ARM co-processor (T3 at this point, I guess) to allow for development work on ASi based applications, but I'm not sure it will. I hope it will at least address the flaw in the T2 that was all over the press recently.
For the first ASi Mac, I'm holding out for a Mac mini to replace my current one, but who knows what they're planning.
I intend to go Apple Si asap so the iMac5k will have to be kept around as my last Intel dual boot.
Also, I was under the impression that Bootcamp Windows volumes won’t boot if they’re external devices. When did that change? Is it a hack or normally supported?
No hacks involved.
Yes, you are correct, a Boot Camp 'Partition' created with Apple's Boot Camp is very finicky due to some agreement with Apple and MS I believe. However, I booted into an SSD with Windows on, it would just as easily boot a PC if required and then added Boot Camp Drivers manually (these are not Boot Camp specific per se, simply Windows Drivers for specific Apple Hardware) which takes two minutes. Without them, Apple hardware isn't correctly supported. I did not use the Boot Camp utility other than to download the drivers.
I have booted into Windows externally for years from a Mac, what was new was not creating a Windows on an SSD from scratch, rather simply cloning my existing PC which I had never tried before and it is far faster than starting from scratch. All my Windows copies are fully licensed and Microsoft doesn't care what kind of computer you run it on, Mac or PC.
If you don't want to go that route you can run a VM of Windows on the Mac (even a trial version but that limites you to Windows Home which is OK if you don't need DTR) and use the excellent WintoUSB utility to create a bootable Windows SSD, it's free. You need a Windows 10 iso which is free to download from MS and works as a trial if you just want to play. In fact, the only limitation is no personalization ability.
If you want to try any of the above but need more guidance let me know, it's very simple. Basically using Boot Camp as provided is for Mac users with no idea about Windows or PCs for the most part and as you say it is pretty limiting in many ways, especially with a small boot drive on a Mac. Try changing the partition sizes after the fact... that's a bundle of laughs!