Apple could release an ARM-based laptop in 2021, according to an analyst who often provides accurate insight into Apple's next moves.

To be clear, this laptop will likely be a MacBook or MacBook Pro-branded laptop, but it just won't have an Intel processor, or at least that's what KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via 9to5Mac) has claimed.

Kuo indicated this new Mac could arrive sometime in the next year or year in a half and will feature a new in-house processor.  Keep in mind Kuo has said since at least 2018 that Apple is developing its own processors for Macs.

Other reports have also long claimed Apple plans to stop using Intel CPUs and move to ARM architecture-based, custom-built processors. Even Bloomberg once said that Apple will likely release Macs with custom processors in 2020.

So, from what we can tell, the only new bit of information to glean from Kuo's latest research note is that Apple's ARM-based laptops will arrive in 12 to 18 months from now, or by August 2021. 

It's thought that customer processors will allow Apple to more tightly integrate its hardware and software, and it could potentially result in systems with better battery life. Plus, Apple would be able to continue its goal of reducing its reliance on third-party manufacturers. 

Although Apple has never confirmed it is ditching Intel to build its own processors, job listings and hires suggest that is indeed the plan.