Following last week's introduction of new processors for the Retina MacBook Pro lineup, Primate Labs has analyzed benchmarks coming in from the new machines through the company's popular Geekbench 2 software.
Unsurprisingly, the benchmarks reveal a roughly 3-5% increase in Geekbench scores for each of the processor bumps. For the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro lineup, Apple bumped each of the three available processors by 100 MHz, accounting for the minor benchmark improvements.
One thing to note is that the new mid-range Retina MacBook Pro has the same speed processor as the old high-end Retina MacBook Pro. However, the new mid-range model is slightly slower than the old high-end model. While this seems surprising at first, the difference is easily explained by comparing the two processors: the old high-end processor has more cache than the new mid-range processor.
For the 13-inch lineup, the 100 MHz speed bumps were limited to machines based on the high-end stock configuration starting at 256 GB of storage, with those machines also seeing a 3-5% improvement in Geekbench scores. Aside from the processor improvements for the Retina MacBook Pro lineup, Apple also reduced pricing on the 13-inch models by $200-$300, increased RAM on the high-end 15-inch stock configuration, and reduced pricing on storage options.
Thursday August 28, 2025 4:08 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
An iPhone 17 announcement is a dead cert for September 2025 – Apple has already sent out invites for an "Awe dropping" event on Tuesday, September 9 at the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. The timing follows Apple's trend of introducing new iPhone models annually in the fall.
At the event, Apple is expected to unveil its new-generation iPhone 17, an all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17...
Tuesday August 26, 2025 4:17 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today announced its "Awe Dropping" iPhone-centric event, which is set to take place on Tuesday, September 9 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. There are a long list of products that are coming, but we thought we'd pull out five feature highlights to look forward to.
That Super Thin iPhone - Apple's September 9 event will see the unveiling of the first redesigned iPhone we've had in years, ...
Wednesday August 27, 2025 6:36 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple's logo for its upcoming September 9 event hints at two rumored iPhone 17 Pro features, including new color options and a vapor chamber cooling system.
Of course, this is all just speculation for fun, as we count down the final days until the event.
New Colors
Last month, Macworld's Filipe Espósito reported that orange and dark blue would be two out of the five color options...
Monday August 25, 2025 4:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple will offer the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max in a new orange color, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
Gurman made the claim in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, adding that the new iPhone 17 Air – replacing the iPhone 16 Plus – will come in a new light blue color.
We've heard multiple rumors about a new iPhone 17 Pro color being a shade of orange. The ...
Apple's cases for the iPhone 17 lineup will be accompanied by a new Crossbody Strap accessory with a unique magnetic design, according to the leaker known as "Majin Bu."
Apple's Crossbody Strap reportedly features an unusual magnetic design; it likely has a "flexible metal core" that makes it magnetic along its entire length. At the ends, "rings polarized oppositely to the strap close the...
Tuesday August 26, 2025 4:05 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022 other than a shift from Lightning to USB-C, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Apple will launch AirPods Pro 3 later this year, and apart from new features like heart rate monitoring, we're also expecting a few design changes.
The fourth‑generation AirPods offer useful clues to Apple's design cues for ...
But they're a computer company first and a gadget company second, it's just the gadgets are available for far less than a Mac and sell in far higher quantity. They've been offering very slim laptops with decent enough specs for quite some years before the Windows Ultrabook/Google Chromebook systems came out to "try" and compete with them and only beat them on cost.
Yes it would be because then they wouldn't look like they're totally incompetent. 3-5% boost? really?
Based on what? The opinion of someone who just uses facebook and plays angry birds?
There's loads of uses for a Macbook that couldn't be done with some tablet toy or lousy netbook/chromebook that's only geared up as a glorified browser/email client. Think on-location video editing, DJs/EDM Producers, people in the design industry who need a decent system and OS to use with robust system-wide colour management and accurate font-rendering or people who simply want the option of not running Windows as their OS of choice and don't want to get all geeky and opt for a compromising nightmare of open source nonsense.
I hope they don't just stick to phones and tablets. Apple's computers are awesome, especially considering the need for bootcamp. Makes my work life a lot easier!
I'm pretty sure that's what they are currently doing. There hasn't been a single update to the rMBP in over 4 months. I know I will not be buying an Apple laptop / desktop again unless they do a major overhaul in their approach at conducting business.
Not a single update in over 4 months? Is that considered a long time? Apple has pretty much always released a major overhaul/change once every year, and I don't see why that has to change when it comes to their laptops.
Biggest design overhaul since iOS 7 with Liquid Glass, plus new Apple Intelligence features and improvements to Messages, Phone, Safari, Shortcuts, and more. Developer beta available now ahead of public beta in July.
