Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Updates 12-Inch MacBook With Skylake Processors, Faster Graphics, Longer Battery Life, and Rose Gold
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
And a profit marvel too- partially because having only 1 USB-C port motivates the sale of high profit adapters.
I do love the MacBook 12-inch model. It's a true beauty to behold, and the keyboard don't really bother me at all. The fact that it only features a single USB-C connection has not really been a problem either. The weight and footprint of the machine is just ridiculous.
But I can't free myself of finding the hardware to be slightly underpowered. My girlfriend loves it for studying and will be taking it with her for work when her studies are finished this summer. But she finds the performance to be a tad bit too low while editing Word files with tons of pictures and operating several applications at once.
The big question is; Does the move from Intel Core M (Broadwell) to Intel Core m5 (cheapest option) / Intel Core m7 (upgraded / expensive model) (Skylake) offer any significant boost to the performance.
Comparing the raw specs of the Intel Core M (Broadwell) to the new Intel Core m5 / m7 (Skylake) they seem to be almost identical in terms of CPU, and a slight increase in terms of GPU and higher memory speeds which again affects the integrated GPU and not really CPU performance.
According to Notebookcheck the GPU performance of the Intel HD 5300 on Intel Core M compared to the new Intel HD 515 on the Intel Core m5 seems to provide about 5-20% increase of graphical performance depending on the application. Not really a huge update at all, especially considering the HD 5300 is a rather weak integrated GPU to begin with. I did never expect such a notebook to have any stealler GPU performance anyways and as long as it works perfectly with all the Mac OS X animation as well as video-playback I don't really care for the added performance.
In terms of CPU, it seems like Intel is bragging about up to 25% increased performance. But all benchmarks seems to indicate that the increase is negligible between this one compared to the older one. It's pretty much the same performance levels, but at lower power and heat. So you will get increase battery life and lower heat generation but no real bump in performance.
Which is a real shame, as the MacBook 12-inch is so close to be a darn perfect ultraportabel machine. It just needs that slight boost to it's CPU performance and sadly these new Skylake chips does not seem to provide it.
All the rumours about refreshed MacBook Air or Pros taking design hues from the new MacBook 12-inch makes me hesitant to get this new 12-inch. If Apple are able to provide a 12/13-inch Air/Pro with a slimmer body as this new MacBook 12-inch models, but still being able to fit a regular low voltage CPU inside of it instead of these ultra low voltage ones so we will be getting regular CPU performance and regular integrated graphics instead of these lower powered ones they will have a real killer right there.
But I can't free myself of finding the hardware to be slightly underpowered. My girlfriend loves it for studying and will be taking it with her for work when her studies are finished this summer. But she finds the performance to be a tad bit too low while editing Word files with tons of pictures and operating several applications at once.
The big question is; Does the move from Intel Core M (Broadwell) to Intel Core m5 (cheapest option) / Intel Core m7 (upgraded / expensive model) (Skylake) offer any significant boost to the performance.
Comparing the raw specs of the Intel Core M (Broadwell) to the new Intel Core m5 / m7 (Skylake) they seem to be almost identical in terms of CPU, and a slight increase in terms of GPU and higher memory speeds which again affects the integrated GPU and not really CPU performance.
According to Notebookcheck the GPU performance of the Intel HD 5300 on Intel Core M compared to the new Intel HD 515 on the Intel Core m5 seems to provide about 5-20% increase of graphical performance depending on the application. Not really a huge update at all, especially considering the HD 5300 is a rather weak integrated GPU to begin with. I did never expect such a notebook to have any stealler GPU performance anyways and as long as it works perfectly with all the Mac OS X animation as well as video-playback I don't really care for the added performance.
In terms of CPU, it seems like Intel is bragging about up to 25% increased performance. But all benchmarks seems to indicate that the increase is negligible between this one compared to the older one. It's pretty much the same performance levels, but at lower power and heat. So you will get increase battery life and lower heat generation but no real bump in performance.
Which is a real shame, as the MacBook 12-inch is so close to be a darn perfect ultraportabel machine. It just needs that slight boost to it's CPU performance and sadly these new Skylake chips does not seem to provide it.
All the rumours about refreshed MacBook Air or Pros taking design hues from the new MacBook 12-inch makes me hesitant to get this new 12-inch. If Apple are able to provide a 12/13-inch Air/Pro with a slimmer body as this new MacBook 12-inch models, but still being able to fit a regular low voltage CPU inside of it instead of these ultra low voltage ones so we will be getting regular CPU performance and regular integrated graphics instead of these lower powered ones they will have a real killer right there.
All I want is a MacBook Air (with all its ports and battery life) with a Retina display! Why, Apple, why?!?
I disagree. I keep my Air plugged in all the time. After 4 years the battery has only 184 cycles and 91% health. Check to see the cycle count of your MBA battery and its health.
Keeping the battery plugged in all the time is not bad as you think. Macs have a smart charge circuitry. When the charger is plugged in all the time, but the battery is fully charged, charging stops all together and only starts if the battery level drops to a certain value.
When was the first time this year Apple dropped the Air's price? Maybe I'm missing something.
So, wait, I have to attach a WHITE USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter to my ROSE GOLD Macbook? Steve wouldn't have let that happen
He has been gone for 5 years. Why keep on constantly bringing up his name in vain? Sigh...
I wish they cared about good specs as much as they cared about watch bands.
someone needs to be punched in the face for letting them release this thing with 1 USB port again...Jobs wouldn't have done it, after the push back for not having backlit keys on the macbook air after it got a redesign he listened to customers and the next model had backlit keys. Cook is not listening to people, we don't want a single port to charge and plug USB into, this isn't an iPad and we don't even want that on an iPad
The biggest idiocy is the single USB port. I understand it's meant to be wireless-everything, but just one more port on the other side would solve SO MANY real life usability issues.
The new Google Chromebook Pixel has one port on each side. So simple and elegant! You can even charge it from either side - this is also a real life usability success, because for portable devices it often makes a lot of difference in convenience (depending where you are and where the wall socket is!).
The new Google Chromebook Pixel has one port on each side. So simple and elegant! You can even charge it from either side - this is also a real life usability success, because for portable devices it often makes a lot of difference in convenience (depending where you are and where the wall socket is!).
There has been a lot of issues with Skylake's notebook line-up of CPU's. There is no denying it, and that's most likely why Apple have delayed their regular MacBook / MacBook Air / MacBook Pro refresh longer than usual.
Apple is properly waiting on the Skylake Refresh / Rev2 CPU's that hopefully will have ironed out all the initial issues before they refresh their Air and Pro series. These Intel Core m3, m5, m7 chips was never affected by these issues as these don't feature the same CPU architecture as their bigger siblings.
What's the reasoning for Apple still sticking with a Gen1 USB 3?
Today. The 8 GB model was €1199 yesterday and €1099 today.
If you could buy out-of-the-box working osx for hp's or dell's laptop, many of us wouldn't look back to this apple tax crap...
Have the same questions. IMHO, the upgrade in RAM specs (1833Mhz) might also help boost the MB performance.
Here is the info on the GPU:
Intel HD Graphics 515
The Intel HD Graphics 515 (GT2) is a low-end integrated graphics unit, which can be found in the Core m-series of the Skylake generation. This "GT2" version of the Skylake GPU offers 24 Execution Units (EUs) clocked at up to 1000 MHz (depending on the CPU model). Due to its lack of dedicated graphics memory or eDRAM cache, the HD 515 has to access the main memory (2x 64bit DDR3L-1600 / LPDDR3-1866).
Performance
According to Intel, the HD Graphics 515 is up to 41 percent faster than the previous HD Graphics 5300 (Broadwell). Nevertheless, the GPU will handle only simple games like Counter-Strike or Dota with decent frame rates. Depending on the specific CPU model, memory configuration and TDP (4.5 W, configurable), performance may vary substantially.
Features
The revised video engine now decodes H.265/HEVC completely in hardware and thereby much more efficiently than before. Displays can be connected via DP 1.2 / eDP 1.3 (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz), whereas HDMI is limited to the older version 1.4a (max. 3840 x 2160 @ 30 Hz). However, HDMI 2.0 can be added using a DisplayPort converter. Up to three displays can be controlled simultaneously.
Power Consumption
The HD Graphics 515 can be found in Core m processors with 4.5 W TDP (3.5/3.8 W cTDP down, 7 W cTDP up) and is therefore suited for very thin, mostly passively cooled 2-in-1 notebooks and tablets.
Even worse, the HD 515 GPU in the Skylake Core M processors can actually drive a 4K display at 60Hz via DisplayPort.
So many still complaining about the 1 port. It is not the machine for you then. I honestly think all owners, actual owners, have not had issue with it. It actually is easier to dock with 1 port too.
It's because he thinks the current Lithium ion batteries are susceptible to the same downfalls as the NiCad's of old... which they are not.
Crap. Now I regret waiting and I should have bought them at Best Buy with their $300 discount when I had the chance.
Last edited:
The Intel Core m7 (the more expensive model) does also feature increase GPU frequencies compared to the Intel Core m5 (the cheapest option).
+1
There is where I'm going with my upgrade after Apple releases the new MBP in 2nd half.