Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) new MacBook Pro upgrade may launch as soon as tomorrow, if leaked information provided French website Mac Generation proves to be correct. The Gallic news site, which, as its name suggests, focuses exclusively on Apple products, claims that two MacBook Pros will be made available on Tuesday, one with a 13 inch screen and one with a 15 inch screen, designated J44a and J45a respectively.
RAM is expanded to a 16 GB standard on all 15 inch models, with a choice between 2.2 GHz, 2.5 GHz, and 2.8 GHz processors, according to a Chinese leak reported by Apple Insider. For comparison purposes, two models of the MacBook Pro are currently available. One of these has a 2.0 GHz processor and 8 GB RAM, while the other has a 2.3 GHz processor and 16 GB RAM. Prices are expected to remain stable, though with a 2.8 GHz model thrown into the mix, a new price point is likely to be established for this level.
Though there is no direct evidence for or against the idea, it seems likely that all 13 inch models will feature 8 GB of RAM, rather than 4 GB or 8 GB as is now the case. This would sync with Apple’s apparent design decision to make the current higher threshold of RAM the new lower threshold, though it is possible that 13 inch RAM will be boosted above this level.
Savvy Apple (AAPL) watchers and enthusiasts will no doubt discern that these performance gains, welcome as they are, are quite modest. The increase to 16 GB RAM and 2.8 GHz processors is almost more of a “bug fix” than a completely new product release. The cause for this rather tepid upgrade is best sought outside Apple’s corridors, however.
Intel lies at the root of Apple’s minor upgrades. Currently, Intel processor cores run on 22 nanometer “Haswell” architecture. A 14 nanometer “Broadwell” architecture is under development but has been delayed due to technical problems. The current release date is set vaguely in late 2014 or perhaps the first months of 2015.
Though Apple would doubtless have preferred to amp up their MacBook Pro line and “wow” their customers with Broadwell chips, they apparently judged the time ripe to begin selling their new MacBook Pros, and therefore did the best they could with the 22 nanometer Haswell chips actually available for production.
