Skip to main content

Apple’s newest MacBook Pro is only slightly faster than previous models

Apple MacBook Pro OLED with Touch Bar
Malarie Gokey/Digital Trends
Apple’s recent refresh of their MacBook Pro line has left some Mac aficionados a little underwhelmed. The Touch Bar, Touch ID support, and extra thinness and lightness were all welcome, but the use of last year’s Intel Skylake processors has not been nearly as well received.

There are a number of reasons why Apple might have skipped Intel’s current lineup, Kaby Lake, not to mention the simple fact that the latest CPUs simply might not have been ready while the new MacBook Pros were being designed. In any event, the real question is, did the switch to Skylake from the previous generation’s Broadwell processors bear any fruit? The answer is decidedly mixed, as MacRumors reports.

Recommended Videos

MacRumor turned to the ubiquitous Geekbench set of benchmarks to see how much improvement the new MacBook Pro machines might bring in terms of sheer performance. As it turns out, when comparing machines in the same processor class, the newest versions do eke out a slight improvement when looking at the Geekbench 4 multi-core scores.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The Core i5-6860U in the 2016 13-inch MacBook Air, for example, scored 6,970 in Geekbench, compared to the 6,782 scored by the Core i5-5287U in the 2015 13-inch MacBook Pro. That is a very nominal three-percent increase. MacRumors did not list a score for the 2016 Core i7 model and so the highest score in the roundup was achieved by the Core i7-5557U in the 2015 13-inch MacBook Pro.

While the new MacBook Pro model does not provide any significant performance improvements, its use of the 15-watt Skylake CPU versus the 28-watt Broadwell CPU does provide some advantages in terms of energy efficiency. As MacRumor notes, the new models should enjoy battery life with 54.5-watt batteries as compared to the previous models’ 74.9-watt batteries. Of course, that also indicates Apple’s determination to make the new machines so much thinner was a compromise against potentially much-improved battery life.

There are a number of reasons to pick up this year’s MacBook Pro, including that innovative input mechanism, the Touch Bar. Improved performance and battery life, however, are not among those reasons, and so anyone thinking about upgrading an older MacBook Pro should be sure to consider exactly how much additional performance they are looking for.

Mark Coppock
Mark Coppock is a Freelance Writer at Digital Trends covering primarily laptop and other computing technologies. He has…
I desperately want MacBooks to steal this trackpad feature
Someone using a MacBook Pro M4.

One of my favorite things about using a MacBook Pro is the trackpad gestures. For years, I’ve been able to swipe through different windows, open Command Center or Launchpad, and check notifications while hardly moving my hand at all.

Most Windows laptops I try have an inferior overall trackpad experience, but like most things in tech, that hasn’t lasted for long. I’ve recently been trying the Asus Zenbook S 14 — powered by Intel’s latest Lunar Lake CPU — and one of my favorite features is the way Asus has approached the trackpad. It’s quickly changing my opinion of Windows laptops as a whole.

Read more
What is AppleCare+ and is it worth adding to your MacBook?
A person using a MacBook with an Apple Studio Display.

If you’ve just kitted yourself out with one of the best Macs, you might be looking to protect your purchase with some kind of insurance. If that’s the case, you’ve probably heard of AppleCare+. But what exactly is AppleCare+, and should you buy it for your MacBook?

Here, you’ll find everything you need to know about AppleCare+, including what it is, how much it costs, and whether it’s worth it. Read on and you’ll be able to make an informed decision for your Mac in just a few minutes.
What is AppleCare+?

Read more
Apple may finally fix the worst things about the MacBook Pro
Someone using a MacBook Pro M4.

Future MacBook Pro models may trade in Apple’s now signature notch design for a hole-punch camera motif.

A component road map from research firm Omdia details that Apple has plans to make changes to the display of its 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models that will be released in 2026.

Read more