As the craze for the launch of the iPhone 7 appears to be dimming a bit, the Apple MacBook Pro 2016 is the new centre of attention. It’s a highly expected and anticipated device and speculation suggests that the Cupertino-based tech company may reveal the device this October.
Some advocate that Apple will most-likely wait for the Intel Kaby Lake processors, making the MacBook Pro 2016 a must-have.
The possible launch of the MacBook Pro 2016 has now boosted previous reports that the much-awaited refresh is coming about this fall. Compile that with some hype from Apple CEO Tim Cook; MacBook Pro fans indeed have a reason to get excited.
It has been more than 479 days since the MacBook Pro has had a refresh, so it’s not difficult to understand the eager anticipation as folks hope that the wait is worth it. The preceding months saw various rumours tied up to the MacBook Pro 2016.
Among them one such rumour spoke about the popular features that the next Apple notebook will offer. The list includes OLED touch strips, Type-C USB ports, Touch ID, and a fingerprint scanner.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air, run solely on integrated graphics bundled with Intel’s chips. The 15-inch MacBook Pro is available in two versions, a lower-end arrangement with only integrated graphics and the other, a higher-end configuration that adds an enhanced graphics chip for sophisticated performance.
The 15-inch MacBook are furnished with both types of graphics, and can automatically switch between the two, judging whether better performance or better battery life is needed at the moment.
Apple has generally used chips like Intel’s GT3 or GT3e for graphics performance, with the “e” suffix on the GT3e signifying embedded DRAM, on the chip, improving performance. Compared to the GT3 tier, the GT3e delivers finer performance.
If we consider Intel’s history, for chips outside Skylake, the 15-inch MacBook Pro faces a major problem. This is due to the fact that Intel has no plans for any quad-core chips with integrated graphics higher than the GT2 level.
This essentially has about half the raw power of the GT3 tier, which will be a part of the next-generation Kaby Lake family of processors.
As a result, the Skylake H-series chips, which is being currently offered on the 15-inch MacBook Pro – that we are also expecting to be updated next month – may remain as Intel’s lead offering for these types of high-performance mobile chips.
Unless the new Coffee Lake chips are introduced in the second quarter of 2018! Even then the original Coffee Lake chips will comprise of only GT2-level graphics that may not be powerful enough for Apple’s requirements.
Mobile & Apps, recently reported that Apple is planning on making the MacBook Pro 2016 thinner and lighter, plus it will also incorporate the innovative hinge design. There is also a possibility of more colour options.
Apple seems very stern about removing the 3.5mm headphone jack from its future devices. Probably, as a way to show that the company has the guts to think ahead.
Therefore, the MacBook Pro 2016, much like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, may also sport the Bluetooth AirPods. According to Apple Insider, MacBook Pro 2016’s physical function keys may be replaced as well by an OLED display touch bar having modifiable software keys, which will adapt to the functions and needs of various apps.