Apple brings 8th‐ and 9th‐generation Intel Core processors to its MacBook Pro lineup makes it the first 8‐ Core and thus the fastest MacBook Pro ever. This surprising announcement constitutes a gentle introduction to the upcoming WWDC (Mac Pro announcement?).

Pre-WWDC announcements

WWDC is coming, and Apple is preparing to be liked on the professional market and gain some more heavy users. The announcement of the 8-cores Intel processors was a bit of surprise since the word on the street was that Apple is looking for other options than Intel. Read here more regarding Code-Name Kalamata. However, the process of replacing Intel will have to wait.

Raise the bar for connectivity, performance, entertainment and productivity for modern laptops

Apple and the 8th-9th Intel Core generation

The new 8th-Gen Intel Core processors were unveiled on September 2018 as a goal to “Raise the bar for connectivity, performance, entertainment and productivity for modern laptops… delivering up to 12-times faster connectivity speeds…create, edit and share 4K/360 video content 6.5-times faster “ as stated by Intel. Intel emphasized that the 8th Gen Intel Core Y-series processors also deliver fast connectivity options, including fast Wi-Fi and LTE capabilities with unprecedented performance, to the some of the thinnest and lightest laptops in the market with double-digit gains in performance compared with the previous generation in sleek and compact form factor with extended battery life. That invention was the perfect match to Apple MacBook Air to allow heavy users to edit 4K on this mid-level laptop. Now it seems that the advanced version of those processors (8-core) is implemented on the new mid-2019 MacBook Pro.

Sprinting to a faster machine for advanced applications

It appears that Apple is making enormous efforts to make its machines faster to satisfy the professional market. Take for example the X2 elevation boost regarding performances on the new iMac lineup, which engineered with a combination of  8-core Intel 9th generation processors and the Radeon Pro Vega GPU. It seems that Apple is taking its models and improve them by focusing on speed elevation, and that’s a good thing to editors and filmmakers who have migrated to the PC world.

The new MacBook Pro can edit up to 11 simultaneous Multicam streams of 4K video in FCPX

Apple

The 8‐ core in the MacBook Pro

According to Apple, “The new MacBook Pro delivers two times faster performance than a quad‐core MacBook Pro and 40 percent more performance than a 6‐core MacBook Pro, making it the fastest Mac notebook ever”. Apple says that the new MacBook Pro can edit up to 11 simultaneous Multicam streams of 4K video in FCPX.

Product Highlights for the 15.4″ mode

• 2.3 GHz Intel Core i9 Eight-Core
• 8GB of 2400 MHz DDR4 RAM | 512GB SSD
• 15.4″ 2880 x 1800 Retina Display
• AMD Radeon Pro 560X GPU (4GB GDDR5)
• True Tone Technology
• Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) | Bluetooth 5.0
• Touch Bar | Touch ID Sensor
• 4 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C) Ports
• Force Touch Trackpad
• macOS

Price and availability

The price for the 15.4″ MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2.3 GHz Intel Core i9 Eight-Core) is $2,800 and available for preorder on B&H website.

Final thoughts

Apple concluded that this is the time to bring back those professionals who have migrated to PC machines. Professionals claim that Apple has abandoned its prosumers. Take, for example, the lack of NVIDIA GPUs compatibility. A lot of editors who need the 8K native workflow made the switch to PC because of ideal synergy with NVIDIA GPU. However, I believe it’s about to change. Apple is focusing on upgrading the speed of their machines, and we haven’t talked yet about the upcoming Mac Pro that is supposed to shuffle the cards.