Another day, another rumor surrounding the next-generation MacBook Pro specs. This time, the rumors are about Apple joining forces with AMD to equip its future MacBook Pro products with the latter’s Zen processors.
For awhile now, the Apple MacBook Pro lineup has been flaunting a mix of U and H-series processors. Typically, both these tiers receive new updates more or less around the same time, but with the arrival of Kaby Lake, the higher-end models might be forced to look elsewhere for that extra performance and efficiency.
Intel’s latest mobility processor roadmap had earlier highlighted that after Skylake, the company would be switching to another CPU lineup referred to as the Kaby Lake.
The Kaby Lake family will be available in several variants. However, considering how MacBook Pros usually rely heavily on faster graphics performance, odds are high the company will be forced to jump ship.
Meanwhile, AMD which will probably be offering custom chips based on its latest Zen architecture could emerge as a viable alternative for Apple in case Intel is unable to meet the graphics requirements in the high-performance aimed, 15-in MacBook Pro models.
As pointed out by this WCCF Tech report, AMD is in a really good position to take advantage of the situation by rolling out a custom Zen-based SOC sporting the company’s new GCN cores, as well as a couple of HBM (cache/system subsystem).