
MacBook gets a Skylake speed boost, 8GB of memory, longer battery life - zhuxuefeng1994
http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/19/skylake-when-it-crumbles-we-will-stand-tall-face-it-all-together-at-skylake/
======
cmiller1
I found this statement interesting.

>The new guts are getting you better performance but also better battery life
with what Apple says is 10 hours of web browsing or 11 hours of iTunes movie
playback.

Movie playback used to be considered the de facto test of the most rigorous
power use a computer would go through. Spinning DVDs and hard drives have been
replaced with SSD, hardware accelerated decoding of video has replaced maxing
out your CPU.

On the other hand, web browsing used to be considered a light use of power.
Pull some network content into memory, parse some basic html, etc. Now with
javascript EVERYWHERE and the rising complexity of web pages, web browsing has
become one of the most taxing things you can do as far as power use is
concerned. In fact, on my MacBook Pro now that OS X tells you which processes
are using the most power, web browsers like Safari and Chrome are the only
thing I ever see show up in "Apps using significant energy"

~~~
massysett
Indeed, I use Safari because it seems neither Firefox nor Chrome are optimized
at all for battery usage. Chrome is a huge power hog.

I wonder if it's the same on the Windows side; has Microsoft optimized IE (or
the new browser, whatever it's called) for power usage?

~~~
freehunter
That's why I use Safari as well. The difference in power usage is enormous
between Safari and Firefox.

I have Windows on Bootcamp but I don't know if Microsoft breaks down power
usage like Apple does. I could compare Firefox to Edge, otherwise.

~~~
Caprinicus
It's almost purely a function of CPU usage especially if you have an SSD.

I don't think the mac power usage thing takes into account GPU usage but for
that you'd probably want to download something third party to check the watt
usage itself.

~~~
stcredzero
In the early days of SSDs, power draw of an SSD was usually around the same as
for a spinning platter. Has this changed?

~~~
milankragujevic
According to OCZ's marketing material ([http://ocz.com/consumer/ssd-guide/ssd-
vs-hdd](http://ocz.com/consumer/ssd-guide/ssd-vs-hdd)), SSDs use 2-4 watts vs
7 watts for HDDs.

------
ghshephard
It is starting to look like the MacBook Air may not get processor/PCIe Flash
refresh, and if that's the case, I'm going to be very upset - that laptop is
perfect in almost every conceivable way for me. I am very much not interested
in the MacBook, despite wanting to like it. The weird keyboard, smaller
screen, Mobile/slower Processor, 2 hours less battery life, Just a single
port; other than being lighter, zero value _and_ they are charging an extra
$300 for it. Note - The Retina screen, despite a lot of A/B testing by me, is
not anything I really care about.

I get, and respect, the desire to move everything to USB-C, and I'm willing to
take the hit with dongles to help move things forward - but couldn't we do
that on the MacBook Air?

I know, everyone will say, "MacBook Pro" \- but, once again, I don't care
about the Retina, and the MacBook air is a _monster_ of a system, awesome
processing power - I'm running 31 Apps right now on my MBair, including two
Virtual Machines (one of them Windows), full office suite, Aperture - and it's
not even spinning up the fans.

The MacBook released today is a less useful system for me in almost every way
than the MacBook Air released three years ago.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
> they are charging an extra $300 for it.

The MacBook comes with a base configuration of 256GB SSD and 8GiB of RAM. The
MacBook Air comes with a 128GB SSD and 4GiB of RAM (Edit: _came with_.
Apparently this year they finally upped them to 8GiB RAM, so the price
difference may have widened.). For the MacBook Air 13" and MacBook Pro 13"
upgraded to 256GB SSD and 8GiB of RAM, the price is closer IIRC.

(I'd check, but Apple's website is amusingly broken right now.)

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
The website works again now, so I can finally look up the current prices:

MacBook with 8GiB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,299 (base model)

MacBook Air 13" with 8GiB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,199 (upgrade from 8GiB RAM, 128GB
SSD $999 model)

MacBook Pro 13" with 8GiB RAM, 256GB SSD: $1,499 (upgrade from 8GiB RAM, 128GB
SSD $1,299 model)

So the MacBook is somewhere between MacBook Air and MacBook Pro pricing, $100
pricier than a comparable Air in terms of RAM and SSD, $200 cheaper than the
Pro. Interesting.

In their default configurations, the MacBook has an m3, the Air a low-
clockrate i5, the Pro a high-clockrate i5. On the other hand, the Air does not
have Retina, while the Pro and MacBook do.

~~~
ghshephard
Thanks - I've been doing the same thing. Here was my ask back in 2012 when I
was waiting for a new laptop from Apple (this is my "Now I will Upgrade"
point): 500+ Gigabyte SSD, 16 Gigabyte Memory, 7 Hour Battery, 2880x1800 13"
Air w/802.11ac (500 megabit WiFi) - $1200

Back then, I thought that system would land in Spring/Summer 2014. Things have
certainly slowed down - at least they got the Battery life in a good place.

So, here is what we are looking at with the MacBook

    
    
       2304 x 1440 pixels.  (12" IPS Retina)
       10 Hours Battery
       8 GiB Memory
       512 GB SSD
       802.11 ac
       1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core m7, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
       $1749
    

You can save a bit of money ($150) by going with the 1.2GHz dual-core Intel
Core m5, Turbo Boost up to 2.7GHz - so, base price $1599. (You could save
another $300 by dropping down to a 1.1GHZ, and only 256 GB SSD @ $1299, but I
drive my system pretty hard on the CPU, and it seems like the Turbo to 2.7 GHz
+ 512 GB SSD is worth $300)

I'm trying to figure out if I can hold out another year. I kinda want the 13"
display. I use this screen for everything, and real-estate is precious, but I
don't know if it's a deal killer - particularly as it supports the same scaled
resolution as my MBair (1440x900) - and my close up eyesight is awesome. Might
have to see what the Terminal looks like in scaled resolution. I'm not a big
fan of the mobile processors on this box, but everyone says it's ok. Be
interesting to see how VMware holds up with Windows/OpenBSD. 8 GiB/memory,
turns out to be fine. Apple isn't increasing it because you really don't need
more with OS X on a non pro system - so I'm dropping 16 GiB from my wishlist.

It looks like this may be the end of the line for the MacBook Air (other than
a memory bump for the 13" up to 8 GB for the same $999 price) - Given that
Retina probably isn't that big a deal, I'm almost considering the 2015
Broadwell MacBook Air just as a holder for my older Laptop. I can go light on
the CPU and probably still come out ahead of the MacBook, even with the pre-
skylake architecture. Take good care of it for three years (it won't be my
daily driver) - and there will still be probably 50% of it's value when I
finally upgrade to my "final" system (or at least something I hold onto for
six or so years). $1199 MBAir gets me 1.6GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5, Turbo
Boost up to 2.7GHz, 8GiB, 256 GB PCI-e SSD, 12 Hours Battery.

I may just wait for Anandtech/GeekBench to review this gear to see how the
Skylake m5 1.2 GHz compares with the Core i5 1.6 GHz before making a
decision...

~~~
toyg
_> Given that Retina probably isn't that big a deal,_

It is. Trust me. Once you get used to smooth print-like text, nothing else
compares.

------
tiffanyh
Still only a 480p camera [1] in the year 2016?

Reminds me of this funny video from last year [2].

[1] [http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs/](http://www.apple.com/macbook/specs/)

[2]
[http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KHZ8ek-6ccc](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KHZ8ek-6ccc)

------
seba_dos1
8GB RAM? When I was buying my Yoga 2 Pro with 8GB RAM I already hesitated, it
is a bare minimum these days. Browsers alone can eat it all with ease. Today I
wouldn't buy a new laptop without more RAM or at least upgrade options.

~~~
leejoramo
As someone who upgraded my own 13" MacBook Pro to 16GB RAM, I would NEVER
recommend 16GB to anyone except those who can justify it.

The extra RAM has some big disadvantages:

1\. As I recall, I lost about 40 minutes run time on batteries.

2\. It decreases battery sleep time. Prior to the upgrade, I could go for 4 or
5 days in sleep, and still have useful enough battery life. Now it is more
like 2 or 3 days.

3\. It dramatically increases time to sleep and wake from sleep.

4\. It eats valuable SSD space. You need 16GB to sleep. And you swap files
will be bigger. You likely need a bigger SSD to support the RAM

5\. RAM does cost money up front.

If you do need 16GB, you know it and should be ready for these trade offs. As
someone who regularly runs 2 or 3 browsers, Mac and Linux development tools,
MS Office, Adobe, Linux and Windows VMs, etc, I am in the class of people who
need the extra RAM. Most people do not.

~~~
coldtea
> _3\. It dramatically increases time to sleep and wake from sleep._

Well, I'll have to call BS on that. It maybe increase it, but hardly
"dramatically". In fact time to sleep/wake is fast enough to barely care about
it.

And I have 16GB RAM and the older, 2013 era, SSDs. Newer MBP SSDs are 2x-3x
the speed of mine.

Plus, since then Apple added memory compression...

~~~
mitchty
Meh, even with a mbp with 16gb of memory, I still want more. I'd like 64 or
even 32. I tend to be running enough linux vm's for dev with things like
kernel stuff that the more the merrier.

That and I'm a bit heavy on the tab (ab)use.

------
cletus
Apple is annoying the crap out of me with their Macbook line.

I bought a 13" Macbook Air in 2011 that I still use. It was and is an amazing
laptop. It's really in a sweet spot for size and power.

For _years_ buyers including me have wanted a retina display and (ideally) the
option for 16GB of RAM.

The Macbook is just too much of a compromise. Crappy keyboard. Only one port
that's also used for power. Really low power CPU.

Why can't I just get the Macbook's display on a Macbook Air?

~~~
jxy
I feel for you. I'm typing on my 13" Macbook Air from 2011. Apple wants to
banish 5-year-old PCs, so I'm all in to banish my trusted Air. But what's my
next option? Pro is too hefty for me and '' is underwhelming, while Air is
left behind.

------
HNcow
This really is a neat machine for consumers. I would never buy one, but I'm
always really impressed at the size / build quality whenever I see one. The
price tag is definitely up there for what it is hardware wise, but I think
it's one of a kind build makes it justified. Just not my cup of tea :)

~~~
crb
We said the same of the MacBook Air when it first came out of its gimmicky
manila envelope on stage. Or, for that matter, when the iMac came out with no
floppy drive, and only USB ports!

~~~
ghshephard
But, none of us _did_ buy that MacBook Air - it was too expensive at the time.
It was later generations that hit the sweet spot.

~~~
kennywinker
I knew a couple non technical people who bought and loved the first gen Air.
The appeal broadened with later revisions, for sure.

I also know a bunch of developers who bought and love the MacBook. Not sure
how they're making do with that single port but apparently it works for some.

~~~
ghshephard
Hold on - are you sure we're talking about the _first_ gen Air - that device
was more like a concept prototype than anything people actually bought/used.
It came with a slow spinning disk by default, and the SSD was hellishly
expensive. It was also pretty slow, particularly if you didn't upgrade to SSD.
I know some people who did purchase latter generations once the SSDs were
within reach.

~~~
kgwgk
I did buy and use it. I know other people who bought and used it. Of course
the subsequent iterations were better, but the first gen was not unusable.

~~~
dzhiurgis
I used it too. Skype and Youtube was unusable unless it was cold that day.

~~~
kgwgk
Overheating was indeed an issue, but I think it didn't affect all the units to
the same extent. It was a problem for me, and increasingly so if I remember
correctly with later macosx releases, but another machine bought at the same
time worked much better.

------
venomsnake
PSA: If you intend to use it for Linux - don't buy it yet. I have the old
generation. There is problem with recognition of the SPI keyboard and
trackpad. There are lots of kernel org bugs open for the 8,1 and no solutions
as of yesterday.

~~~
caleblloyd
If you're looking for a similar size and spec laptop for Linux, I've
thoroughly been enjoying Ubuntu on the Dell XPS 13 developer edition. It comes
with core i5/i7 so it's snappier but also has a fan. And you can charge via
USB-C or the included power adapter.
[http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9350-laptop-
ubuntu/...](http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/xps-13-9350-laptop-ubuntu/pd)

~~~
karmajunkie
How's the power management on it? That's always been the weak spot for me with
Linux on a laptop.

~~~
voltagex_
According to mjg59, not good [1] [2]. I've found the power management pretty
bad on Windows myself but then again my 9350 is scheduled for repairs tomorrow
(backlight issues and screen "disconnecting")

[1]:
[https://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/41713.html](https://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/41713.html)

[2]:
[https://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/42156.html](https://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/42156.html)

------
ikeboy
What's up with that URL? skylake-when-it-crumbles-we-will-stand-tall-face-it-
all-together-at-skylake

~~~
_JamesA_
It is a cheeky reference to the theme song to the movie Skyfall by Adele.

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyfall_%28song%29](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyfall_%28song%29)

------
bitsoda
This is shaping up to be a nice machine. Now if only the keyboard travel
weren't so shallow...

~~~
DonHopkins
They're hard to find, but I've finally tracked down a place in Australia
(mechkb.com) that will internationally ship me one of these convertible Cherry
MX key babies, that supports both Mac and Windows, both bluetooth (pairing
with four devices) and USB (for low latency gaming and charging):

Filco Majestouch Convertible 2 review: the quest for a Mac-compatible,
wireless, mechanical keyboard: [http://johnscullen.com/filco-
review/](http://johnscullen.com/filco-review/)

~~~
ekmartin
[http://www.keyboardco.com/](http://www.keyboardco.com/) sells the Filco
Convertible 2 [0] and a few other Filco keyboards - they also ship
internationally. Bought from them before, would definitely do it again.

[0] - [http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/filco-
convertible-2-usa-a...](http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/filco-
convertible-2-usa-ascii-keyboards.asp)

~~~
DonHopkins
That's a great store, but they were out of stock, and nobody selling them on
Amazon would ship to the Netherlands. Maybe they're easier to find in Japan,
where they're made. I made sure to lock in my order from Australia where they
had one in stock, before blabbing about it on Hacker News. ;)

It seems so sensible, I don't understand why there aren't more convertible
keyboards like that! Together with a convertible bluetooth mouse like the
Razer Orochi that also supports multiple bluetooth pairings, it's the best of
both worlds for low latency USB gaming, charging, and wireless switching like
a KVM between Macs, PCs, tablets, phones, GearVR, etc.

I wish there were more convertible devices like that to choose from. The
KBTalKing Pro looked wonderful, but never made it to regular production
("factory issues"). [http://kbtalkingusa.com/](http://kbtalkingusa.com/)
[http://www.keyboardlover.com/kbtalking_review.php](http://www.keyboardlover.com/kbtalking_review.php)

Be careful shopping for convertible devices that actually use Bluetooth and
not some proprietary dongle, and that actually use USB for fast low latency
data instead of just charging!

------
TazeTSchnitzel
I'm wondering if, at some point, they'll ditch the headphone jack for a second
USB-C port. But that would require having USB-C headphones, which Apple might
not be willing to make.

~~~
jonnycowboy
Actually it would just mean only supporting wireless bluetooth headphones from
now on...

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
Are Bluetooth headphones practical, though? Does Apple even make any of their
own?

~~~
mmahemoff
Although I use Bluetooth headphones on a phone or tablet, I would be
disappointed if I was required to use them on a laptop I'm using all day long.

Normal usage time is about 4 hours on the cheaper units I use, and that's just
playback without any microphone use. Maybe longer on more expensive units,
while they are new, but I doubt many would get you through a whole work day of
continuous activity.

Also, pairing is still fiddly and would probably put off a lot of casual
users. (Especially when you have a N-to-N mapping between devices and
headphones.)

USB-C could still work if there are enough ports. While it's been great having
a common standard for headphones across devices (partly thanks to the original
iPhone not requiring a custom dongle), it does start to feel a bit of an
anomaly in an era where everything is converging on the new USB standard(s).

~~~
11526666
You definitely pay for what you get in the battery department. I personally
have a pair from Sony claimed to get 20 hours of battery life on a charge.
I've never fully tested the claim, but they are more than enough to make it
through a couple workdays without charging.

------
jmuguy
We have a few executives that would love one of these systems. But you cannot
connect them to any of Apple's displays. Which is sort of insane to me.

------
yeureka
I wonder how this performs under XCode.

Currently I lug around a 15" MPBr and I would like something lighter to do
development on the train but I wonder about performance.

Has anyone tried to do C++ builds on XCode using one of these machines?

~~~
izacus
Yeah, pretty horribly. XCode compile times are about 200 - 300% of those on a
rMBP 15" for the same project. Those machines are very very very very slow.

~~~
fpoling
Is this with the standard CPU or with that 1.3 GHz max option?

~~~
izacus
IIRC it was topped out rMBP 15 (mid-2014) vs. topped out MacBook.

------
eugeneionesco
It seems even with Skylake it still can't power a 4k monitor at 60Hz, oh well,
next year maybe :)

------
post_break
I wish Apple would transition all computers to USB C to allow for easier
charging. Being able to buy an Anker battery for cents on the dollar vs the
three batteries on the market that support magsafe would be a godsend. I love
magnets, saved my ass quite a few times, but I want to be able to charge my
laptop on the go cheaply.

~~~
feld
Considering the number of faulty/dangerous USB-C cables and chargers out there
I don't expect to see Apple to do this.

~~~
viraptor
It's not like the magsafe story is all great
([http://www.righto.com/2016/03/counterfeit-macbook-charger-
te...](http://www.righto.com/2016/03/counterfeit-macbook-charger-
teardown.html)). They'd just sell their own branded cables.

------
spiffistan
Now, if they only could bump the MBP to skylake as well...

~~~
masklinn
The chance that it would come with WWDC would actually be a pretty good sign
towards significant evolution rather than just internals update: the 13" MBP
was added to the lineout at WWDC 2009 (Apple's first sub-15" "pro" laptop
since the 12" G4), the rMBP range was unveiled at WWDC 2012 and the new Mac
Pro at WWDC 2013.

~~~
glogla
That makes me worried. RMBP 13" is pretty much perfect (maybe the resolution
could be higher), so they can only fuck it up.

~~~
mamon
Probably they will make it "thinner and lighter", cutting one or two hours of
battery life and few hundred megahertz processor speed.

------
meerita
I am waiting for the Macbook Pro. Yes. I believe it will kick ass upgrade
compared with 2015 models.

------
fredsted
This is the perfect home computer for me. I wouldn't do much work on it – I
don't think it supports 2 4K monitors – but it would be great for casual use
while not at the office where I don't need a lot of power.

------
6d65
I am really looking forward for an VR headset as a replacement to a laptop for
on the go working.

Something like a GalaxyVR with an VR first DesktopEnvironment. That will have
a huge 3d floating code editor.

This and a lightweight/wireless keyboard. Could be perfect, and mean less
slouching.

Unfortunately smartphones aren't probably high resolution enough, yet.

------
BooneJS
I'm torn. I don't know if I want a MB or a 12.9" iPad Pro. Most of my "fun"
development is done in a cheap GCE instance on the command-line.

------
technofiend
Not that I number myself among them, but I'm sure the hackintosh people will
be happy if this refresh adds support for things found in skylake NUCs like
bluetooth and networking.

------
nodesocket
I'd be interested in seeing a CPU benchmark between the new MacBook (Skylake)
and existing MacBook Pro's (Core i5).

------
alderz
If only they offered Blue Gold...

------
satysin
Shame they didn't drop the 3.5mm jack on the right for a second USB-C port.
That is the only flaw for me.

------
bischofs
Why don't they just drop in the new gen (6) intel cpus? Or did they?

~~~
yohui
It's in the title: "Skylake" is the codename for Intel's latest desktop CPU
microarchitecture.

------
xchaotic
Rose gold, finally. This will do wonders to my code

~~~
melling
I also don't get it. Why don't more tech people run companies? Are we too busy
amusing ourselves by making fun of things we don't understand?

[http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/03/28/iphone-se-
preorder...](http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/03/28/iphone-se-preorders-
top-34m-in-china-gold-rose-gold-most-popular---report)

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
What makes you think a “tech person” would be less likely to offer products in
a range of colours? ”Tech people” also have æsthetic sensibilities, surely?

~~~
melling
The point is that it's a popular color in a very important market. Someone
looked at a market then chose the color. The comment to which I was replying
was just one of many comments you'll see from tech types. Don't we want to
have a better understanding of why decisions are made?

------
joesmo
I see Apple completely ignored customers' demands to add another port. Hardly
surprising but rather disappointing.

~~~
rkho
I don't understand why you're disappointed at all. Apple has never caved to
"customer demand" for things like this.

I own a 12" Macbook as a secondary machine and frequently bring it with me to
travel. I have never felt the need for a second USB-C connector.

What would a second USB-C connector do for you?

~~~
joesmo
External monitor + power at once. I highly doubt that battery's going to drive
a 4k for 8+ hours. Actually, I doubt it can drive a 4k @ 60hz at all but
mostly because Apple has not released the full specs even though it's been
over a year since the Macbook has been released. Even @ 30hz though or 1440p @
60hz, this can often be taxing on an MBPro let alone the regular Macbook.
There might be an adapter that provides both power and Displayport 1.2 or
greater, but after months of research I stopped looking. I can barely find
regular USB C cables and accessories that people have had good luck with as it
is.

~~~
pnut
Pretty sure this would be included in the box
[http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-
av...](http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-
adapter?fnode=8b&fs=f%3Dusbtypec%26fh%3D4595%252B44c3)

~~~
ropiku
You have to buy it separately. But it does let you use a monitor, charge and
use a USB device at the same time. It does everything I need.

------
B1FF_PSUVM
_" You can also get Apple’s Rose Gold finish on a Mac for the first time ever,
if that’s your sort of thing."_

Bro.

They left off the 'bro' at the end.

Pussies.

