Refurb of the Mac: Apple to ramp up processing power in new MacBooks

17 May 2017

Apple’s MacBook Pro. Image: Apple

Faster chips in new MacBooks will be order of the day at Apple’s annual WWDC shindig.

Apple is expected to unveil three updated MacBook models boasting new processors at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) gathering in San Francisco this June.

According to reports, the MacBook Pro, which comes with the new Touch Bar, will get a faster, 7th-generation Kaby Lake processor from Intel.

The Californian tech giant is understood to be working on a new version of the 12in MacBook, which will also get a faster chip.

Apple is also updating the ageing 13in MacBook Air with new processors, according to Bloomberg.

Despite enduring strong sales of the Mac, Apple iPad sales are in decline and the company is facing vigorous competition from Microsoft with its Surface PC line-up.

In its recent second-quarter results, Apple reported that Mac sales amounted to 4,199 units and $5.8bn in sales, an increase from 4,034 units sold last year.

What’s next for Apple?

All eyes are on WWDC for signals as to what Apple will do next, in terms of its future direction in mobile, mixed reality and, of course, the future of computing, given that the iPhone platform is now 10 years old and there’s plenty of life in the old Mac yet.

The updates to the Mac line-up will mostly be under the hood, and the machines may look identical to the present generation; that is, unless Apple has plans to spread the Touch Bar functionality to its Air line.

Apple is also likely to announce updates to its macOS operating system.

Mac sales account for just 11pc of the company’s $216bn annual sales, compared to two-thirds of revenue, which comes from the iPhone.

However, the Mac is a crucial part of the Apple legacy and an icon of the company’s technology stable.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com