Intel Begins Shipping First Kaby Lake Processors, but Most Macs Won't Get Them Until 2017

intelDuring Intel's second quarter earnings call yesterday afternoon, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich told investors and reporters that Intel has begun shipping the first of its 7th Generation Core processors, known as Kaby Lake.

Kaby Lake is the third member of the 14-nanometer process, following Broadwell and Skylake. It is the first processor Intel has released since announcing the company will no longer adhere to the "tick-tock" processor release cycle, which saw it alternating between shrinking chip fabrication processes and building new architectures each year.

Intel's last two chip releases have been plagued with long delays, and moving away from the tick-tock cycle will allow it to push out new chip updates on a regular basis. Apple's Macs, such as the Retina MacBook Pro and the iMac, have been impacted by Intel's chip delays over the last few years, resulting in long periods of time between updates and unusual update cycles.

Kaby Lake is a semi-tock with optimized microarchitecture, offering support for Thunderbolt 3, native USB 3.1, and DisplayPort 1.2. Krzanich did not offer details on which chips have started shipping, but an old Intel roadmap suggests low-power Core M chips and U-series chips with GT2 graphics (likely not suitable for the MacBook Air) will be the first to ship out.

Kaby Lake chips appropriate for the Retina MacBook Pro, the machine everyone is most curious about, may not launch until the very end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017 and thus may not be released in time for inclusion in this year's rumored update.

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Top Rated Comments

Zellio Avatar
112 months ago
You guys at macrumours assume that Apple is going to release any new macs until next year...
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Bring on the complaints and crying.

These same people will complain if Apple moves to the new release cycle Intel is going to. They'll cry that the new processors aren't a big enough leap to justify a new machine.

You can never win. Everyone always wants more than what's announced and for less.
Because nothing says 'happy camper' quite like a completely outdated set of computers with the exception of the retina macbook

https://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac
Score: 68 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ThisBougieLife Avatar
112 months ago
Who decides they are outdated? I'm very happy with my 2015 15" Pro. Blazing fast compared to what it replaced (late 08 Pro) and while newer stuff might give me a few more minutes of battery and a few better specs I need a computer to edit 4K videos and this one does it and does it well. Specs are for PC users and always have been.
I can't facepalm this enough. Like, there isn't a palm that can hit my face hard enough to express the embarrassment I feel for you and for others while reading this awful comment.

It's this kind of backwards thinking that causes these kinds of delays and causes Apple to charge $2500+ for a laptop with years-old processors...
Score: 63 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MH01 Avatar
112 months ago
If you cannot wait , built your own.

Score: 53 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cambookpro Avatar
112 months ago
Actually yes you CAN. The new Intel CPUs that are suitable for the MacBook Pros have only come out in the last month or two. And it will be the same long wait time for Kaby Lake mobile processors that are suitable.
Dell, Razer, HP, Asus, Lenovo, etc. have all produced laptops with Skylake chips similar to the MBP.

The 15" MBP is still using Haswell processors, never mind Broadwell, Skylake or Kaby Lake.

It's a great shame, as Apple used to be on the forefront of personal computing. It wasn't too long ago they had chips before any other manufacturer.

Quite frankly, I find it insulting that Apple still charge thousands of dollars for technology which is years old, without reducing the price at all, but there you go.
Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
azentropy Avatar
112 months ago
Anyone remember when Apple got Intel chips early??
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
William Gates Avatar
112 months ago
This huge delay on Mac updates is making me think that ARM Macs are coming sooner rather than later.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)