Ahead of the WWDC on June 3rd Apple is choosing to make a number of announcements covering their hardware. They have given their MacBook Pro range a speed bump with 8th and 9th-generation Intel Core processors that Apple claims make the quad-core models twice as fast and the 6-core models 50% faster. In addition it is now possible to buy an 8-core 15-inch MacBook Pro, which has got to be good news for DAW users who want to be able to work on the go.
15-inch MacBook Pro
The top of the range 15-inch MacBook Pro could become the fastest Mac laptop to date. It has a ninth-generation 8-core 2.3GHz Core i9 processor, with Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz. Apple claim that this new MacBook Pro is twice as fast as the quad-core MacBook Pro, and 40 percent faster than the 6-core model that was introduced last July. Other specs include 4GB Radeon Pro 560X graphics, 16GB of 2400MHz DDR4 memory, and a 512GB SSD, all of which make it great for using with DAWs like Pro Tools, Studio One and Logic Pro..
The mid-range 15-inch MacBook Pro now has a ninth-generation 2.6GHz 6-core Intel Core i7 processor, a bump up from the eighth-generation 2.2GHz 6-core Core i7 CPU that was introduced just last year. Other specs include 4GB Radeon Pro 555X graphics, 16GB of 2400MHz DDR4 memory, and a 256GB SSD.
13-inch MacBook Pro
In the 13-inch MacBook Pro range, the $1,799 and $1,999 standard configurations now have new eighth-generation quad-core Core i5 processors.
The $1,799 model has been given an eighth-generation 2.4GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, replacing the eighth-generation 2.3GHz quad-core Core i5 processor released last July. The rest of the key specs remain unchanged.
The $1,999 13-inch MacBook Pro has been given the same eighth-generation 2.4GHz quad-core Core i5 processor, integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655, and 8GB of 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory as the $1,799 model. The extra cost comes courtesy of the 512GB SSD.
The $1,299 and $1,499 models have not been changed from those that were introduced in 2017.
Update - First 8-Core MacBook Pro Geekbench Results Appear
The first Geekbench results have already shown up for the new 8-core MacBook Pro. Both the single-core and multi-core scores show the the expected increases over the last generation MacBook Pro, with the multi-core result approaching Appleās claim of up to 40% improvement.
Update - Examples Of Performance Improvements For The New 8-core MacBook Pro
Apple has given some examples of performance gains for various applications with a comparison of the new 8-core model to the previous quad-core 15-inch MacBook Pro...
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