Two ’21 MacBook Pros Getting mini-LEDs; GPU Shipments Up; Waymo’s New Mock City; 5 Tech Firms’ Employees Rate Them

Noted Apple watcher analyst Ming-Chi-Kuo predicts that Cupertino will roll out 2 MacBook Pro models next year that will use mini LED screens. According to appleinsider.com, one will be the new 14 inch MacBook Pro, which will also have a redesigned form factor. Kuo also sees a new, ‘more affordable’ MacBook Air in 2022. The advantage to mini LED screens is they can be located all through the backlight layer of the screen….giving a more even lighting and higher level of contrast, but at a price point lower than OLEDs. While they DO cost more than the present LEDs, Kuo says Apple will make up the difference with savings from using their own silicon. Kuo also makes a rather amazing prediction that apple will be shipping some 30 million MacBook Pro and Air models by 2023. 

With the work from home boom due to the pandemic, consumers have been snapping up new computers, and that has pushed demand for GPUs way up. Nvidia, Intel, and AMD are reporting a 10.8% increase in shipments during third quarter, year over year. Venturebeat.com reports that the overall PC market increased 9.47% year over year. Discrete GPUs from AMD and Nvidia were up 13.44% quarter to quarter. 

Waymo is opening a couple of new autonomous vehicle facilities, which include a dense, simulated urban area to test out the self-driving abilities of their cars. Slashgear.com says a new R&D facility for self-driving trucks will open in Menlo Park, CA some time next year. They are also working with Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio. That one will be primarily for cars. Waymo already has a 91 acre city mock up at Castle Air Force Base in Merced, CA. 

Anonymous professional network Blind used it’s BlindHub data analysis tool to see what employees thought of Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Apple, and Google. Zdnet.com reports how things stacked up, considering best leadership teams and companies with most equal opportunities. In the top slot…Los Gatos based Netflix. 67% of Netflix employees said they would recommend it as a great place to work. #2 was Facebook, where 42% said that about the social net firm. Apple, Google, and Amazon following along behind.