The new MacBook Pro and MacBook Pro with Touch Bar were only unveiled back in October, but a refresh could be just over the horizon. Normally we’d write this off as nothing, but, indeed, the MacBook Pro and MacBook Pro with Touch Bar were introduced without the latest seventh-generation Kaby Lake Intel processors. Other computer makers are already offering those chips, so a refresh actually makes a lot of sense.
Pike’s Universum dug through some macOS beta code and found references to Mac board-ids for computers that don’t yet exist. Here’s what was discovered, and the site’s theory on what each means:
Mac-B4831CEBD52A0C4C – two models with a maximum Turbo Boost of 3400 and 4000 MHz. This one uses the exact same processor power management data as the new MacBookPro13,1.
Mac-CAD6701F7CEA0921 – three models with a maximum Turbo Boost of 3500/3700 and 4000 MHz. This one uses the exact same processor power management data as the new MacBookPro13,2.
Mac-551B86E5744E2388 – three models with a maximum Turbo Boost of 3800/3900 and 4100 MHz. This one uses the exact same processor power management data as the new MacBookPro13,3.
Kaby Lake Coming Soon
The site believes that Apple will make the computers available sometime after macOS Sierra 10.12.4 is available for everyone. The first beta for macOS Sierra 10.12.4 launched in late January, so it might not be very long before the computers actually debut. Pike’s Universum also surmises the following changes are going to be made to these specific MacBook Pro models:
Let’s start with the MacBookPro13,1
Intel Core i5-6360U 2.0 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.1 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Graphics 540 (15W)
Will be replaced by the: Intel Core i5-7260U 2.2GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.4 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Plus Graphics 640 (15W)Intel Core i7-6660U 2.4 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.4 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Graphics 540 (15W)
Will be replaced by the: Intel Core i7-7660U 2.5 GHz (max Turbo Boost 4.0 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Plus Graphics 640 (15W)MacBookPro13,2
Intel Core i5-6267U 2.9 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.3 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Graphics 550 (28W)
Will be replaced by the: Intel Core i5-7267U 3.1 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.5 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Plus Graphics 650 (28W)Intel Core i5-6287U 3.1 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.5 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Graphics 550 (28W)
Will be replaced by the: Intel Core i5-7287U 3.3 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.7 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Plus Graphics 650 (28W)Intel Core i7-6567U 3.3 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.6 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Graphics 550 (28W)
Will be replaced by the: Intel Core i7-7567U 3.5 GHz (max Turbo Boost 4.0 GHz) with Intel® Iris™ Plus Graphics 650 (28W)MacBookPro13,3:
Intel Core i7-6700HQ 2.6 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.5 GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics 530 (45W)
Will be replaced by the: Intel Core i7-7700HQ 2.8 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.8 GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics 630 (45W)Intel Core i7-6820HQ 2.7 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.6 GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics 530 (45W)
Will be replaced by the: Intel Core i7-7820HQ 2.9 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.9 GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics 630 (45W)Intel Core i7-6920HQ 2.9 GHz (max Turbo Boost 3.8 GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics 530 (45W)
Will be replaced by the: Intel Core i7-7920HQ 3.1 GHz (max Turbo Boost 4.1 GHz) with Intel® HD Graphics 630 (45W)The upgrades will be available some time after the official release of macOS Sierra 10.12.4
If there’s anything to be learned here, it’s this: don’t buy a new MacBook Pro or MacBook Pro with Touch Bar right now. There seems to be enough evidence that a refresh with Kaby Lake is just around the corner.
