16-Inch MacBook Pro 2020 Refresh Might Not Have Apple Silicon

It is pretty much old news by now that Apple is going all out on ARM, at least the flavor of the computing architecture that it will be using on its Apple Silicon processors. The shift won't be immediate, though, and Apple is giving it about two years' time. But while it will soon be moving most of its computers over to that side, it seems at least one specific MacBook Pro model will keep its foot solidly on Intel ground.

After Apple launched its first-ever 16-inch MacBook Pro last year, there hasn't been much word about its next iteration. Sure, there were new GPU and SSD configurations launched a few months ago but those can't exactly be considered an upgrade, especially compared to the one that the 13-inch MacBook Pro got in May.

With Apple shuffling everyone towards its Apple Silicon, which is expected to debut in a new hardware line up next month, it seemed that the next 16-inch MacBook Pro will be part of that new family. The latest version of Apple's Boot Camp utility, however, seems to suggest otherwise.

The changelog for version 6.1.13 of Boot Camp makes a reference to a 2020 model of the 16-inch MacBook Pro which, as mentioned, doesn't exist yet, at least not officially. Even more interesting is what Boot Camp support for that model implies. Apple has confirmed that Boot Camp, its utility to dual boot Windows and macOS, won't be available on Apple Silicon devices. That could only mean that this upcoming large MacBook will still be running on an Intel chip.

Apple isn't abandoning Intel's processors cold turkey so this might not exactly be shocking. It is still a bit unexpected, given how aggressive Apple is pushing Apple Silicon on new or upcoming hardware. Then again, maybe it just wants to end the year by closing the chapter on Intel's processors on a somewhat positive note.