When Apple launched the M4-powered iPad Pro, it was immediately suspected that the Cupertino company would release an M4-rocking MacBook Pro before the end of 2024.
However, new rumors have already started spinning up about the 2025 MacBook Pro lineup, which an M5 processor will supposedly power. The latest from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via Neowin) claims that the 2025 version will feature a compact camera module (CCM).
Ming-Chi Kuo, a regular Apple whisperer, claims that Vietnamese company Sunny Optical will provide the new CCM. The same company reportedly lost a contract for iPhone lenses due to production issues.
Kuo said in a blog post, "Sunny Optical is expected to become Apple's new CCM supplier in 2025 and mass-produce and ship CCM for the new M5 series MacBook models in Vietnam. Because Sunny Optical is a first-tier CCM supplier globally, if MacBook CCM shipments go smoothly, it is expected to become a new supplier of iPhone and iPad CCM in the future."
If you're unfamiliar with the term, a CCM is a self-contained camera system generally used in smartphones and tablets. These systems include the camera sensor, digital signal processing unit and the infrared filter. It does not include the lenses, however.
Why is this important for future MacBooks? LG Innotek and Sharp have supplied the CCM for MacBooks. Sunny Opticals is vertically integrated to produce both the CCM and the lenses in a single product. This could make for more compact webcams integrated into future MacBooks.
If this is successful, Kuo claims the company could start supplying CCMs for future iPhones and iPads. But this is all dependent on whether or not Sunny Opticals is capable of actually producing the CCMs for the next MacBook models.
The first MacBook M4 laptops should come out later this year, probably around October. Last year, Apple launched the M3-powered MacBook Pro. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has reported that we should see a 14-inch MacBook Pro and other M4 MacBooks dropping in 2025.
There have been reports that a MacBook Pro with an OLED screen is coming in 2026, which could include whatever M5-powered device Apple might announce next year.
