Intel Unveils 10th-Gen Processors Suitable for Next 16-Inch MacBook Pro With Wi-Fi 6 and Turbo Boost Speeds Above 5GHz - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
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Intel Unveils 10th-Gen Processors Suitable for Next 16-Inch MacBook Pro With Wi-Fi 6 and Turbo Boost Speeds Above 5GHz

Intel today announced the launch of its latest 10th-generation Core processors for high-end notebooks, potentially including the next 16-inch MacBook Pro. The batch of 45W chips, part of the Comet Lake family, are built on Intel's 14nm++ architecture.

16 inch macbook pro intel 10th gen
The new H-series chips have the same base clock speeds as the 9th-generation chips in the current 16-inch MacBook Pro, but Turbo Boost speeds now exceed 5GHz for the first time. For example, the new highest-end Core i9 chip still clocks in at 2.4GHz, but its maximum Turbo Boost frequency has increased from 5.0GHz to 5.3GHz.

10th Gen Intel Core H Series Processor SKU Table
Intel promotes the fact that its new Core i9 chip is the "world's fastest mobile processor" and the first to exceed the 5GHz frequency barrier. However, not everyone is impressed with the year-over-year performance improvements as a whole.


The new 10th-generation processors also support Wi-Fi 6, aka 802.11ax. The newer standard delivers faster speeds, greater network capacity, improved power efficiency, lower latency, and connectivity improvements in areas with several Wi-Fi devices. Wi-Fi 6 devices must support WPA3, a Wi-Fi security protocol with improved cryptographic strength.

Apple added Wi-Fi 6 to its latest iPhone and iPad Pro models, but the 16-inch MacBook Pro and the new MacBook Air still have Wi-Fi 5.

The existing 16-inch MacBook Pro launched in November 2019, so it is still relatively early for the notebook to receive an update. In the near term, it is more likely that the 13-inch MacBook Pro will be updated with a Magic Keyboard and faster processors, with the next 16-inch MacBook Pro refresh likely to come later in the year.

Keep in mind that last month, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple's first Mac notebooks with its own custom-designed Arm-based processors will launch in the fourth quarter of 2020 or the first quarter of 2021. Kuo said Apple plans to launch several Arm-based Macs by the end of 2021, including notebooks and desktops, marking a transition away from Intel.

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Top Rated Comments

86 months ago
yeah.. and AMD announced theirs which is more energy efficient and seems to beat intels top of the line mobile cpu in single and multi threaded benchmarks...
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
86 months ago
https://www.digitaltrends.com/laptop-reviews/asus-rog-zephyrus-g14-review/

https://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/asus-rog-zephyrus-g14

MacRumors content image

Think I'd be more interested in Renoir at this point. VRMs aren't going to sustain upwards of 5GHz for long at all .
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Btaylor_prod Avatar
86 months ago
And to get 5.3GHz you’ll need to set your laptop on dry ice. :eek:
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
86 months ago

This is true, but Intel can’t change the Laws of Physics. They are starting to hit brick walls in terms of how much power they can pack into a laptop CPU.
It’s not the law of physics. It’s the law of not executing. They are still on their 14nm process, which is ridiculous.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DHagan4755 Avatar
86 months ago
In all fairness, while the 16" MacBook Pro was released in mid-November, it was using the same 9th generation chipset as the 15" models it replaced. Those 15" models were released last May ('https://www.macrumors.com/2019/05/21/apple-debuts-new-8-core-macbook-pro/'). So it's conceivable the 16" will get these new 10th generation processors alongside whatever Apple does with the smaller MacBook Pro.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zdigital2015 Avatar
86 months ago

No sign of the rumoured 10 core i9 then - AMD are going to make hay out of this...
Intel probably had to whiff on it as the thermals wopulent allow them to TurboBoost it higher than say, 4.5GHz or possibly lower, so they ditched it to keep the marketing message focused on the high Turbo Boost frequencies, which are meant to get us to ignore the same as last year clock speeds on the i7-10875H and the i9-10980HK.

As stated above, I think Intel has eked out all the performance they can expect to see out of 14nm and its refinemento, refreshes and the like.

There is also zero chance of them hitting 2.4GHz base clock/5.3GHz Turbo on 10nm at this point...at least not in volume. I’m guessing they would lucky to hit 2.0GHz/4.0GHz with an 8-core part without seeing short supplies on the parts. I am also pretty sure that an 10nm 45w TDP H-Series parts would omit the Iris Plus EU and tack on plain old UHD Graphics, which would just kill one of the main advantages of the 10nm CPUs so far.

This release simply allows Intel to punt the lack of a suitable 10nm part down the road another year while they try to figure out what the hell they are doing moving forward.

I really see no reason for Apple to even waste time putting these things into an updated 16” MacBook Pro, except to shut people up who start whining about Apple using “Year-old CPUs” in their flagship notebook. I am waiting for the chorus to begin around June or July.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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