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Did Apple Slip a New MacBook Pro Into the WWDC21 Invite?

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WWDC 21 invite from Apple/ Three emoji heads sit around three macs. You can see reflections in their eyes, included the one in this article.
Apple has announced the start of WWDC and sent out invites for the event in 2 weeks, starting June 7th. It will, like last year, be online-only. While the U.S. has been ahead of parts of the world in vaccination, only 50% of Americans are vaccinated. Frankly, it’s not safe to hold a developer conference indoors just yet. WWDC22 may be the first one that returns to Apple’s campus.

The keynote event usually involves a few surprises. We sometimes see a few new product launches. Apple also updates their operating systems. It’ll be the first time we see iOS 15, macOS 12, and likely updates to watchOS and tvOS.

Apple likes to hide Easter eggs in invites. Little references that usually don’t make much sense until after their event. This time is no different. Apple hid code for emoji symbols in their invite: 🍴, 😴, 💻. Eat, sleep, MacBook Pro?

According to a recently redeemed leaker, Apple’s emoji is about the upcoming Apple Silicon-powered MacBook Pro. He claims Apple will reveal it during WWDC.

MacBook Hint

Closeup of the text, mirrored so people can read the code for the emoji: u{1F374}, u{1F634}, and u{1F4BB}

Hinting at a MacBook Pro for WWDC isn’t out of the ordinary for a developer conference. It’s a developer’s favorite tool. In fact, at every company I’ve worked at for the past few years, I’ve used a MacBook Pro. Largely, software engineers use Macs. It’s easier to compile and test iOS apps on a Mac, and most developers simply prefer them for work. Honestly? I wouldn’t work somewhere that didn’t let me use a Mac. Yes, it really is that much of a deal breaker.

WWDC is all about developers. What could be more developer-oriented than the machine most developers use to make apps?

A Leaker Confirms?

Jon Prosser has had an iffy record on leaks. He missed the date for the AirTags, but they did end up looking exactly like he said they would. Also, most recently, he nailed the colorful new iMac. Outside of the Apple world, it seems he also gave us our first look at the upcoming Google Pixel 6. It seems as though his leaks have been accurate for the past few months, and we can likely trust what he says. As much as you can trust a leak, anyway. They’re almost never perfect.

Jon Prosser claimed on Twitter that he “can confirm macbook pro is coming” [sic]. He didn’t have additional details, but we expect this to update Apple’s high-end MacBook Pro, the 16-inch MacBook Pro, a favorite of developers. Apple updated this in late 2019 with a larger screen and improved keyboard, as well as Intel’s latest processors. However, this was likely the last MacBook Pro to feature Intel processors. Apple hasn’t updated the MacBook with new internals as they normally would, suggesting they’re completely focused on moving it to their own M-series processors. The new computers will likely outperform their predecessors in computational power and battery life.

WWDC is not often a time for hardware. It’s possible that Apple will save this release for their late fall event, usually held in November. Still, its a possibility, and Apple certainly wants to rush to get their entire lineup switched over to their own processors so they can get to discontinuing support for their Intel Macs quicker.

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