Skip to main content

Apple Mac for gaming rumored in development, to be unveiled at WWDC 2020

Apple is reportedly looking to dive into esports through a gaming-focused Mac that is rumored to be in the works, with the company said to be planning to unveil the computer at its Worldwide Developers Conference in 2020.

Patently Apple reported on a new rumor from Taiwan that Apple is looking to launch “an esports-centric PC” next year, with a price tag of up to $5,000. The gaming Mac will either be a large-screen all-in-one or a large-screen gaming laptop.

The rest of the details remain largely unknown, but according to the rumors, the gaming Mac will be revealed at WWDC 2020, which will be held in June.

Apple’s Mac computers are designed for professional use, and while some editions contain hardware that is capable of running moderately demanding games, gaming has never received dedicated focus for a Mac. However, as esports continues to rise in popularity while slowly entering the mainstream, Apple may be thinking that it is time to enter the gaming scene.

The Mac for gaming will come on the heels of the new Mac Pro, which starts at a price of $6,000. One of the most important aspects of the computer is that it is highly modular, allowing buyers to customize it according to their needs. A desktop gaming Mac may follow the same architecture as the new Mac Pro, which may make it more appealing to gamers who want to be able to upgrade their rigs over time.

However, given the limited library of games that can run on the macOS, it remains unclear how a Mac for gaming will be able to make a splash in the esports scene. Apple has shown significant interest in the gaming industry through the launch of the Apple Arcade, which offers subscribers access to a library of titles for $5 per month, but most of the popular esports games are not optimized to run on Mac computers.

WWDC 2020 is several months away, so if the rumor is true, it will take a while before Apple provides official confirmation for a gaming Mac. While the report remains unconfirmed, all Mac fans can do is hope that Apple is indeed looking at the burgeoning esports market as another revenue source.

Editors' Recommendations

Aaron Mamiit
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
How Vision Pro tech could come to the Mac
The Mac Studio and Studio Display at Apple's Peek Performance event.

You're probably familiar with the Apple Vision Pro, which uses spatial computing technology to bring content alive in the world around you. Virtual reality headsets and 3D displays exist to make games and other content feel more immersive. Apple, however, wants to be the best of the best and is looking into bringing spatial computing experiences to computer monitors, presumably to run your Mac.

A patent for "Displays with Selective Pixel Brightness tuning" was published on April 4, showing the company's interest in the technology. Much of it involves using a lenticular display and a lenticular lens film so that a viewer can see what looks like three-dimensional images without wearing a headset.

Read more
Does your Mac really need antivirus software? We asked the experts
The MacBook Air on a white table.

There’s been a long-held belief that if you own a Mac, you don’t need to use any type of antivirus software to keep your machine free of malware and other destructive code. But it turns out this may actually be more of an old wive’s tale than even the most devoted MacOS users would like to admit. Indeed, Apple has built many safeguards into its operating system, but that doesn’t always mean you’re completely safe. 

We get it: Who would want to sign up for a free or paid version of another computer-adjacent thing? That being said, it never hurts to have too much protection for your Mac. This is a complex topic though, and we asked some Apple insiders to weigh in on the discourse.
Vulnerabilities in Apple’s systems
The belief that Macs are fairly resilient to malware isn’t just idle fanboy-ism. Windows PCs make up roughly 90% of the market, making them a much more attractive target to malware makers.

Read more
Why Apple’s M3 Ultra could be an absolute monster
Apple Mac Studio top down angled view showing side and rear.

There's one M3 chip left to complete the rollout of Apple's latest line of Mac chips -- the M3 Ultra. It'll likely get announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), but some new rumors are pointing to a very different chip than the M2 Ultra or M1 Ultra.

A new post on X from Apple commentator and YouTuber Vadim Yuryev indicates that the M3 Ultra will be designed as a completely standalone chip, rather than two M3 Max chips stitched together.

Read more