Apple’s New Base Model MacBook Pro Is 83% Faster Than Its Predecessor
Credit: 9to5Mac
The base 13-inch MacBook Pro sports upgraded internals that make it much more powerful than its predecessor, which was first released in 2017.
Now, new benchmark statistics back up Apple’s claims that the device is “two times more powerful” than the previous generation.
Entry-Level MacBook Pro
The base 2019 MacBook Pro sports an Intel 8th-generation 1.4GHz quad-core Core i5 processor. The previous base tier had an Intel 7th-generation 2.3GHz dual-core Core i5 chip.
Specs aside, the beefier internals now result in a 6.8 percent increase in single-core performance and multi-core performance that more than 83 percent faster than the 2018 model.
- The 2019 base MacBook Pro averages a single-core score and a multi-core score of 4,639 and 16,665, respectively.
- The 2019 base MacBook Pro averages a single-core score and a multi-core score of 4,341 and 9,084, respectively.
It’s worth noting that the 2019 MacBook Pro benchmarks are based on the average of eight Geekbench results thus far.
Looking under the hood of the new entry-level MacBook Pro, it appears that the notebook is powered by a custom variant of Intel’s U-series processors. It’s a 15W chip based on the Coffee Lake architecture and features a max Turbo Boost of up to 3.9GHz.
The notebook can also be upgraded to a 1.7GHz Core i7 chipset for an additional $300. As far as how powerful that upgrade is, there currently only appears to be one Geekbench test of the processor. It sports a single-core and multi-core score of 4,835 and 15,515, respectively.
Keep in mind that these are just benchmarks and real-world performance can differ.
Other Upgrades
The 13-inch MacBook Pro was certainly showing its age before Apple’s update. But now, it’s a much more competitive device.
Alongside the upgraded internals, the 13-inch MacBook Pro has also been updated with a T2 security chip, Touch Bar and Touch ID. For better or worse, that means that every MacBook Pro now has a Touch Bar.
Additionally, the MacBook Pro has been updated with Apple’s latest butterfly keyboard iteration — which has “new materials” for added durability. Apple also slashed prices on higher-tier SSDs.
The base MacBook Pro still costs $1,299, which nets you 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD.
