Confirmed: 2016 MacBook Retina works harder and lasts longer than its 2015 predecessor
As of last week, those who were hoping for a significant refresh of the MacBook Air or the MacBook Pro, may have been left a little disappointed, as the latest iteration of either does not feature any updates regarding the CPU, or a Retina refresh for the MacBook Air.
With that said, Apple seems to have big plans for the 12 inch MacBook Retina, with a substantial refresh of its brand new product line, likely to replace the MacBook Air in the near future.
The entry level version of the new 2016 MacBook Retina is powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Core M5 processor, and by an Intel HD Graphics 515 GPU. This combo, compared to the MacBook Retina’s first iteration, scores rather high on Geekbench: 5,271 for 32-bit processing and 5,844 at 64-bit. On X-bench, similar numbers can be found: 411 for the 2016 MacBook, and 388 for the 2015 version.
Improved battery life has been confirmed as well. The battery on the 2016 MacBook Retina lasts one additional hour longer than the 2015 version.
The big question is whether Apple is indeed planning on slowly killing the MacBook Air, which might explain the baby-steps taken to upgrade the 12 inch MacBook Retina. A longer battery life and a faster processor may be merely the beginning, as Apple treads carefully on its seemingly long path to weaning consumers off of the MacBook Air, with no guarantee that this might happen well into 2017, and as long as no more refreshes are presented by then.
The 12 inch MacBook Retina, even in its shiny new Rose Gold “suit”, still does have only one USB Type-C port, which works for both data and as charging port. This can only mean that, while Apple is not yet going to kill the MacBook Air, for now, it’s holding its cards close to the chest in regard to other upgrades we might see in the next refresh of the 12 inch version.
Recent speculations have been circulating along the lines of an 11 inch and a 13 inch MacBook Retina, with specs far beyond current MacBook Air models. There is also the question on whether the MacBook Retina’s battery life will outlast the MacBook Air’s still undisputed 12:15 hours.
If or when Apple will pull the trigger on an Air-Killer, common sense suggests battery life as the deciding factor, due to the fact that one of the reasons for the MacBook Air to be so energy efficient, is the lack of a Retina display.