While Apple usually manages to get the latest processor chips in products and to market before other manufacturers, they’ve really missed the ball on Intel’s new 2010 line of Core i3, i5 and i7 processors. Consumers have been expecting them for months now, the Apple event in January being the most likely announcement date. However that date came and went with an iPad announcement, but still no Macbook refresh.
Earlier this month the Apple store went down worldwide, which made expectations rise, but turns out it was for iPad pre-orders in the US. Competitors like Dell, HP and many others have already added the 2010 Core i3, i5 and i7 chips in their mobile products, given this, Apple is falling behind in the mobile performance.
One possibility was that the delay was caused by the wait for Nvidia’s new Optimus Technology which seamlessly switched between integrated and dedicated graphics to improve battery life. It turns out that wasn’t it either, with a number of devices now hitting the market that use this technology.
Currently Macbook Pro owners need to reboot to access one or the other. If you want to know more about Nvidia’s Optimus Technology, check out the writeup over at PC Perspective.
So what’s the hold up Apple ? The fastest processor you can get in a Macbook pro today is a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo, whilst this was a great processor last year, it’s certainly behind the game by today’s standards. The MacBook Air has remained largely untouched since it’s launch in January 2008.
As much as see rumours fly around online, ultimately we’ll only know when Apple confirms the new models.
