Apple’s new MacBook Pro: Tests say it’s up to 20 percent faster than 2016 model

Early benchmark results of the new MacBook Pro with Intel’s Kaby Lake family of processors indicate significant performance gains over last year’s models with the same configuration on Intel’s Skylake chips.

Geekbench 4 comparisons compiled by MacRumors suggest some of the newer models could be up to 20 percent faster than last year’s MacBook Pros.

Last year’s high-end stock configuration 15-inch MacBook Pro came with a 2.7GHz sixth-generation Core i7 and has average single-core and multi-core scores of 4,098 and 13,155, respectively. The new high-end stock configuration 15-inch model comes with a 2.9GHz Core i7 and has so far recorded respective average scores of 4,632 and 15,747.

The new model’s scores are only based on a handful of tests, but the early results suggest that for the same price as last year’s equivalent model, you may get a 13 percent better single-core performance and a 20 percent improvement in multi-core. The high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro costs $2,799.

The base configuration of the new 15-inch MacBook Pro has a 2.8GHz Core i7. Although there’s currently only one Geekbench result for it, here too it points to a 9.5 percent improvement on the 2016 equivalent, which featured a 2.6GHz Core i7 sixth-generation processor. This model costs $2,399.

Apple upgraded the processors across its entire MacBook lineup for 2017, but little else changed from the 2016 lineup.

The 12-inch MacBook got the largest makeover with a new 16GB RAM option, up from a maximum of 8GB, Kaby Lake processor, and inherited the keyboard mechanism from the 2016 MacBook Pro.

Apple also added a new entry-level 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar with 128GB storage, which costs $1,299. Last year’s 13-inch model started at $1,499 however it had 256GB storage. Essentially, Apple reintroduced the $1,299 entry point for the previous 13-inch MacBook with retina display.

Courtsey Zdnet