Rumour | MacBook Pro 14: A 14.1-inch mini-LED, Ice Lake-powered and scissor keyboard wielding MacBook Pro 13 successor?

The MacBook Pro 13 could be going the way of the MacBook 15, according to the venerable Ming-Chi Kuo. Cited by MacRumors and 9to5Mac, Kuo apparently mentioned that Apple is developing a 14.1-inch version of the MacBook Pro, a replacement for the MacBook Pro 13.

Likely marketed as the MacBook Pro 14, MacRumors has given us an insight into how the device could look next to the current MacBook Pro 13 and last year's MacBook Pro 15. If the MacBook Pro 16 is anything to go by, then the MacBook Pro 14 will be slightly larger than the MacBook Pro 13, with the former probably retaining the latter's screen-to-body ratio.

The MacBook Pro 14 will apparently be one of the first Apple devices to feature mini-LED panels, a technology not to be confused with MicroLED. Essentially, mini-LED technology features around 1,000 local dimming zones, an order of magnitude more than typical LED panels. These LEDs measure anywhere from 0.1 to 0.2 mm, too. Theoretically, mini-LED panels should have higher contrast ratios than typical LED panels, albeit without reaching OLED levels.

Separately, the Macbook Pro 14 will likely feature Ice Lake processors, according to recent leaks. While Kuo did not mention this either, we would expect Apple to also equip the MacBook Pro 14 with a scissor-mechanism keyboard, as it did with the MacBook Pro 16. Kuo states that the MacBook Pro 14 will launch alongside a refreshed MacBook Pro 16 later this year.