The next-generation MacBook with Apple silicon will not appear until late 2021, skipping Apple's usual Mac refresh window in the spring.

This is according to Ming-Chi Kuo, writing in a research note seen by MacRumors, who claims that we can expect 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros in Q2-Q3. In other words, this new rumor may mean that a new Apple laptop with an upgraded M-series chip is likely to appear in the fall of 2021.

These models will apparently feature a new design, and based on previous claims by Kuo, 2019 could see an upgraded 16-inch MacBook Pro and the much-rumored 14-inch MacBook Pro replacing the 13-inch model

It is not clear what chips these new MacBooks will use; one would imagine that in late 2021, Apple will be working on an upgrade to its recently announced M1 chip. However, such upgrades may be only modest, as Apple's chip upgrades tend to be iterative rather than a significant step up in performance. Thus, we may see chips named M1X (similar to the way Apple names the upgraded A-series chips in its iPad line), if not simply M2.

The new MacBook Air M1 and 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 have been warmly received for their power, battery life, and effective support for apps designed to run on Apple's former Intel chips. Our only criticisms of the MacBook Air in our review were its old, large bezel design and the fact that it has only two Thunderbolt 3 ports. These two could easily be addressed in the new design, as Kuo suggests.

In addition to the MacBook Pro, we can expect a new Apple Silicon version of the iMac, a large 24-inch all-in-one PC, and a new smaller version of the Mac Pro, a tower PC Outside of the Mac product line, Kuo is planning to launch in late 2021 a basic iPad or iPad Mini, and AirPods 3 in late 2021.

Kuo also notes that the Apple Watch has been a sales success thanks to its "innovative health management features and improved form factor design." This sounds like a reference to the successor to the Apple Watch 6, possibly the Apple Watch 7. However, it is also possible that Kuo is talking about the Series 6's new case color and blood oxygen monitoring features rather than the ideas that the next Apple Watch will focus on.

Whether these rumors and Kuo's predictions come to fruition is still some 12 months away. But 2021 could be an interesting time for Apple's Mac lineup.