The 2017 MacBook Pro refresh hasn’t gone as smoothly as Apple would have liked. There have been battery issues, the Consumer Reports debacle, a lack of an update Intel processor, and then prosumers have complained about the lack of traditional ports. Many have attributed the problems to Intel dragging their feet with their Kaby Lake, which left Apple either waiting to refresh their MacBook’s or launching with less powerful, current generation CPU’s. Of course, we all know they went with the latter for better or worse.
Now that Intel has officially launched its seventh generation Kaby Lake processor, Apple intends on refreshing the MacBook Pros with the updated processors.
According to an investor note from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Ku, the MacBook Pro 12-inch will be the first to receive the updated processor with mass production starting in Q2. Apple will also upgrade the 13-inch and 15-inch with the Kaby Lake processor, but they’ll also offer 32GB of RAM in the 15-inch model; the existing model is capped at 16GB of RAM for battery reasons.
Finally, it’s said Apple will cut the price of the 13-inch MacBook Pro without the touchbar, which hasn’t fared well with consumers. I’ve seen the non-touchbar model as a MacBook Air replacement, but the high price has been a huge deterrent for college students and others who love MacOS but cannot afford $1,000 plus laptop.
The Kaby Lake refresh means first adopters will feel gypped by Apple. They purchased, in some cases a $3,000 laptop, that they’ll use each day but will be vastly underpowered and have subpar battery life. The new refreshed early 2017 models will have better battery life, improved speeds, and in the long run last for a longer time.
While it’s not unusual for Apple to refresh a MacBook lineup, it’s early for them to do this only months after the original launch date. I haven’t bought a new MacBook Pro because I was unsure of the touchbar, but I was also turned off by the previous generation Skylake processor.
Tell us in the comments below what you think about the impending MacBook Pro refresh!