MacBook 2017 release date, rumors: Laptop to be priced lower, but might not get Intel Cannonlake or Coffee Lake

Apple has just unveiled the first MacBook Pro iteration in four years, but the 2017 version of the laptop is already the subject of many rumors and reports.

In the latest research note by trusted KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will do major price cuts next year on existing MacBooks in addition to releasing upgraded versions with a smaller price tag as well.

According to the expert, existing MacBooks will be priced higher prior to the launch of the MacBook Pro 2017, but should receive a much lower price tag the following year.

With regards to the specifications, he said that if the circumstances are right, the MacBook Pro 2017 models will come with 32 GB of RAM, which is double that of what the recently-launched MacBook Pro boasts.

"This depends on whether or not Intel ships Cannonlake CPU on time in 2017, which features 15-25% less power consumption of LPDDR 4, versus the existing LPDDR 3," Kuo stated via MacRumors.

"If Cannonlake doesn't enter mass production as expected, the new models launched in 2H17 will adopt Coffee Lake, which continues to adopt LPDDR 3, and maximum DRAM support will also remain unchanged at 16 GB," he added.

However, Apple's vice president for marketing Phil Schiller has said in a recent exchange with a MacRumors reader the conditions in adding RAM more than 16 GB in a MacBook Pro. Apple received flak for sticking with 16 GB instead of 32 GB for the MacBook Pro 2016.

"To put more than 16GB of fast RAM into a notebook design at this time would require a memory system that consumes much more power and wouldn't be efficient enough for a notebook," he explained.

Kuo suggests that the Intel Cannonlake will help with that, should it be released in time for Apple to use it on the MacBook Pro 2017. The analyst said that Apple will also have Coffee Lake as an alternative if the processor comes late.

Interestingly, Andrew Cunningham of Ars Technica contradicts Kuo's claims and stated that the Intel Coffee Lake will not actually arrive until 2018 and that MacBook Pro-class chips are not on the table for Intel.