Following the June release of Apple’s Haswell-powered MacBook Air, rumors suggest that a Haswell update for the more powerful MacBook Pro will be arriving ahead of the holiday shopping season. The China Times, citing Asian supply chain sources, pegged the October release date on “yield problems with the high-resolution Retina display” – contradicting analyst predictions that the MacBook pro would arrive in mid-September.
Intel’s new i5 and i7 core Haswell processors offer increased processing power over previous models, but the biggest selling point so far is the major increase in battery life that the fourth-generation CPUs provide.
“Thanks to much-improved power efficiency, Haswell chips have granted laptops and notebooks that elusive Holy Grail of near all-day battery life, with double the life-span of the previous generation models,” said TechRadar.
Haswell processors are also compatible with the newest high definition displays. “The chips also offer support for the latest 4K displays, which offer a resolution 4 times that of standard HD displays,” wrote MacRumors. “Currently, no Apple products feature the resolution.”
As for the chips themselves, the International Business Times reported that Apple has asked Intel to provide an “ultra-high performance” version of the Haswell CPU for use in the new MacBook Pro. Apple requested that the special Haswell chips be fitted with Intel’s top-of-the-line GT3e (Iris Pro 5200) integrated graphics.
“According to Intel’s own promotional materials, the company’s new Iris integrated graphics offer 2 to 2.5x the performance power of the i7–3840QM chip with HD Graphics 4000 in the current high-end Retina MacBook Pro,” said the International Business Times.
Apple will be releasing Mavericks, the Cupertino tech giant’s latest operating system, this fall. Adding to the power-saving ability of the newest Haswell processors, OS X Mavericks will utilize some never-before-seen battery saving features.
“OS X Mavericks includes App Nap, which puts apps to sleep when they are hidden behind another app and Safari Power Saver which saves power when browsing the web. Apple also boasts better HD video playback which allows for better battery life while watching movies in HD,” explained GottaBeMobile.
The Haswell-powered MacBook Pros will likely come in two variants and two sizes – following previous Apple notebook trends. There will probably be a 13 and 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, as well as a 13 and 15-inch non-Retina option.
China Times sources also claimed that the refreshed MacBook Pros will maintain the same price point as the current lineup.