At CES today, Intel announced its full set of “Broadwell-U” processors, which are appropriate for updated versions of Apple’s MacBook Air and 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro.
As outlined by the folks at AnandTech, the new Broadwell-U chips include a set of four 28-watt chips that range from 2.5 GHz to 3.1 GHz in clock frequency. All of the chips also feature the next-generation Iris 6100 integrated graphics.
The Core i5-5257U, Core i5-5287U, and Core i7-5557U chips seem to be suitable for Apple’s 13-inch Retina MacBook Pro. Even though the chips don’t make huge improvements on clock frequency, the significant improvements in graphics and other areas should make for noticeably improved performance.
Intel’s second set of four chips look to be appropriate for Apple’s MacBook Air lineup. The four 15-watt Broadwell-U chips carry the new Intel HD 6000 graphics, which should yield significant performance improvements over the last generation chip. The four chips’ base clock speeds range from 1.6 GHz to 2.2 GHz.
Intel tells AnandTech that the new Broadwell-U chips are already shipping to vendors. New systems using the new chips are expected to be released as early as the end of this month. Systems that use the Iris graphics will be available closer to the end of the first quarter. The release of Intel’s Broadwell lineup of chips will hopefully signal upgrades to Apple’s line of MacBooks within 2015.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
Would this also be “appropriate” for 2015 Mac Mini Quad Core?
I don’t think Apple will use the Broadwell-U series for the Mac Mini, but there will be a Broadwell chip released this year that would suit the Mac Mini.