Oct 18 (Reuters) – Critics anticipate Apple Inc (AAPL.O) to unveil the latest Mac laptop computers with more strong processor chips at an event that will be streamed on Monday.

Bloomberg has earlier reported that Apple plans to launch two new MacBook Pro models with 14-inch and 16-inch displays. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant added some new laptop versions last year that, for the first time, used its “Apple Silicon” chips, which it stated would be phased into the Apple desktop and laptop variants over the passage of two years.

Before Monday, Apple’s most convincing laptops still relied on chips from Intel Corp (INTC.O). The tech company has already installed a first-generation in-house-manufactured M1 chip into some MacBooks and Mac Mini and iMac desktops. Still, the new higher MacBook Pro models are anticipated to feature a second, more strong generation of Apple’s chip.

The new chip, along with a global rise in laptop purchases as workers and students stocked up on tech hardware to operate and learn from home, prompted a rush in Mac sales throughout the pandemic. As a result, revenue rose 11% to $28.6 billion in Apple’s financial 2020 year, even as iPhone profits declined 3%.

The coming MacBook Pro presentation comes weeks after Apple renewed its iPhone, Apple Watch, and iPad entrants.

Some critics believe Apple on Monday will also renew its AirPods wireless earbuds, though news of an update has circled ahead of other Apple launches this year without coming to claim. Add-on gadgets like AirPods tend to be best sellers during holiday shopping periods and have become one of Apple’s fastest-growing divisions, with its home and accessories division increasing 25% to $30.6 billion in Apple’s 2020 fiscal year.

In addition to the latest MacBooks and AirPods, Apple could reveal a Mac mini Pro desktop machine with the M1X chip. It will also likely announce when customers will be able to download the next-generation OS, macOS Monterrey, which adds updates to FaceTime, assistance for AirPlay, a low-power mode, and a tab-grouping option in Safari.

But these gadgets and machines are releasing amid ongoing concerns about global component scarcity and logistics problems. Apple, in particular, faced supply restrictions earlier this year, mainly impacting the iPad and Mac. It’s now reportedly weighing cutting its iPhone manufacturing goals for the year because of the chip scarcity. (Apple declined to clarify on the report.)

Mark Gurman’s Apple Launch Speculation

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in May stated that Apple was working on a high-end variant of the Mac mini, emphasizing a more powerful Apple silicon chip than the M1 and additional ports. Then, in August, Gurman followed up that statement by telling that the renewed ‌‌Mac mini‌‌ would be appearing in the “next several months,” which follows up well with this month’s launch.

Gurman’s specific expectations about the latest ‌Mac mini‌ are below:

The latest ‌Mac mini‌ is suspected of using the M1X chip, the same processor as the next-generation MacBook Pro.

The next-generation MacBook Pro variants are presumed to feature an upgraded variant of the ‌‌M1‌‌ chip with a 10-core CPU, carrying eight high-performance cores and two energy-efficient cores, and 16-core or 32-core GPU alternatives, implying this is also what we can foresee from the latest ‌‌Mac mini‌‌. The chip they share, however, could yet have another title.

Capacity for up to 64GB of memory.

This is supposed to benefit the M1X processor, which is supposed to hold up to 64GB RAM capacity, up from the 16GB maximum RAM capacity by the ‌‌M1‌‌.

Four Thunderbolt ports will be added at the rear.

This would be higher from the two Thunderbolt ports available on the back of the ongoing ‌Mac mini‌ with an ‌M1‌ processor and is also stated to be a change backed by the M1X chip.

The high-end ‌Mac mini‌ will succeed the Intel ‌Mac mini‌ that Apple is still marketing.

When Apple launched the ‌‌M1‌‌ ‌‌Mac mini‌‌ last year, it held the Intel Mac minis with two extra ports for product entrants as a high-end option. Apple did the identical with the MacBook Pro and iMac, where the ‌‌M1‌‌ feature ousted the entry-level variant of the machine and kept the high-end Intel designs with more ports on purchase. As a result, Gurman expects that the latest high-end ‌Mac mini‌ will be sold beside the ongoing ‌‌M1‌‌ ‌‌Mac mini‌‌.

Apple isn’t the only Big Tech brand revealing new gadgets this week. Google will reveal its Pixel 6 smartphone on Tuesday, and Samsung is hosting a secret press coverage the next day that even the rumor mill didn’t see happening.