Following rumors about a new MacBook 2018 and a (finally!) updated MacBook Air, Intel has unveiled new 8th generation processors that could power Apple's new laptops.
Intel’s new processors have received the official designation of Y- and U-series (code name Amber Lake and Whiskey Lake, respectively).
The chip foundry says that laptops using these processors will start appearing “this fall,” which is also in line with Apple rumors that claim that new MacBooks will be announced in an October event, including a potential MacBook Air with a Retina display.
MORE: What the Hell Is Happening with the MacBook Air?
Both the Amber Lakes and Whiskey Lakes support Gigabit Wi-Fi that is 12 times faster than the latest standard and also faster USB 3.1 Generation 2 connectivity. Intel also claims that laptops makers would be able to squeeze as much as 16 hours of battery life out of these processors.
The Whiskey Lake chip is the beefier processor of the two, with support for 4K UHD content, Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos, and integration with Alexa and Cortana. On the other hand, the Amber Lakes are optimized for “touch and stylus interaction.”
Since Amber Lake is the successor to the CPU in the current MacBook, I can’t help but wonder if Apple would ever take advantage of these features and finally go touch with a Mac computer. But Apple CEO Tim Cook has shot down the idea of a 2-in-1 on multiple occasions.
