While Intel's next-generation Broadwell processors for most Macs are not shipping until early 2015 or even later, the company began shipping some ultra low-power Broadwell chips known as Core M a couple of months ago. These chips are designed to run at just 4.5 watts and are intended for next-generation fanless PCs and tablets, fitting perfectly with circulating rumors of a thinner, fanless 12-inch MacBook Air, potentially with a Retina display.
The first batch of Core M chips launched in early September consisted of the 5Y10/5Y10a running at a base frequency of 800 MHz with a maximum of 2 GHz turbo, along with the more powerful 5Y70 running at 1.1 GHz with a max turbo of 2.6 GHz. But as pointed out by CPU World, Intel now appears to have quietly added several new processor options to the Core M family. Internal roadmaps had targeted an early 2015 launch for these chips, but Intel's chip database shows the new chips as having launched this quarter.
The new chips, which we understand Apple has indeed been testing with the upcoming 12-inch MacBook Air, include a new high-end 5Y71 chip running at 1.2 GHz with a max turbo of 2.9 GHz, two new mid-range chips arriving as 5Y51 and 5Y31, and a new low-end 5Y10c variant. As noted by CPU World, all of the new chips offer faster graphics than the initial batch of Core M chips, with base graphics frequencies moving from 100 MHz to 300 MHz across the board and turbo frequencies in some cases rising slightly to as high as 900 MHz.
Lenovo's Yoga 3 Pro is the first PC to take advantage of the first batch of Broadwell Core M chips, and performance has been lackluster. It is unclear, however, whether the issues are due more to Core M's limitations for the sake of power efficiency or to Lenovo's design decisions. Still, the new second batch of Core M chips appears to mark a significant step forward from the earlier versions while maintaining the same low power draw.
The launch timing of Apple's rumored 12-inch MacBook Air remains up in the air, with one rumor pointing to a likely mid-2015 launch. But with Intel moving forward on its Broadwell Core M chip lineup and perhaps accelerating its launch plans for those chips, it will be interesting to see if Apple looks to launch the new, thinner MacBook Air earlier in the year.
Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by Joe Rossignol
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week.
Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far.
Apple Intelligence for Siri
Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
Wednesday February 12, 2025 6:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
As the wait continues for Apple's long-rumored, fourth-generation iPhone SE, French electronics retailer Boulanger has prematurely published a product listing for a "new" model of the iPhone SE. The placeholder page says the device is "coming soon," but it offers no further information, and the price shown is obviously not real.
The listing was spotted by a reader of the French technology...
Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week.
Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech.
iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech
In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
Thursday February 13, 2025 6:20 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple this week began selling refurbished Mac mini models with the M4 chip for the first time, but this has led to a pricing conundrum.
In the United States, Apple is offering a refurbished Mac mini with the base M4 chip, 256GB of storage, 16GB of RAM, and Gigabit Ethernet for $509, down from $599 new. This is the standard 15% discount that Apple offers on refurbished Macs.
The issue is...
Wednesday February 12, 2025 11:35 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today added MacBook Pro and Mac mini models with M4 series chips to its certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland for the first time since the computers were introduced in October 2024.
Some refurbished MacBook Pro models with M4 chips are also available in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and select other European countries.
...
Thursday February 13, 2025 2:45 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Last year, Apple tweaked iPhone 16 Pro screen sizes to make them bigger than 2023's iPhone 15 Pro models, and this year we are also expecting a change in the size of the displays in the iPhone 17 lineup. Here's what we know.
Standard iPhone 17
Apple could introduce a new display size for the standard iPhone 17 model in 2025. The iPhone 17 could measure in at 6.3 inches, up from 6.1 inches,...
Wednesday February 12, 2025 2:18 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple this month started advertising on X for the first time in more than a year. The company had stopped advertising on the social media platform in November 2023 following controversial remarks made by its owner Elon Musk.
For example, the @Apple account is running an ad promoting Safari's privacy features. The ad was spotted by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The @AppleTV account has a...
Introducing the 2015 MacBook Air. It has a processor speed from a decade ago, the same amount of RAM as a decade ago, the same amount of storage as a decade ago and finally to round things up it has the same price as a decade ago.
Introducing the 2015 MacBook Air. It has a processor speed from a decade ago, the same amount of RAM as a decade ago, the same amount of storage as a decade ago and finally to round things up it has the same price as a decade ago.
And introducing the "new" Apple logo, rainbow-colored.
We might as well buy old PowerBooks at this point. :rolleyes: