What are we expecting from the Broadwell MacBooks?

[chef-borjan]

So still not massively persuaded to upgrade from my 2011 MBA, although I don't get continuity or handoff which is a bit annoying.

However, what are we expecting from the CPUs in the broadwell refresh? I haven't been keeping up with things so much apart from the fact that they will be energy efficient, I presume they will be noticeably faster than my current sandy bridge CPU?

Bear in mind I'm not too fussed about integrated graphics performance for games (my main rig handles that) but overall CPU performance and the ability to handle CAD/CAM drawings/photoshop etc will be my main interest.

 

[Calpol]

So still not massively persuaded to upgrade from my 2011 MBA, although I don't get continuity or handoff which is a bit annoying.

However, what are we expecting from the CPUs in the broadwell refresh? I haven't been keeping up with things so much apart from the fact that they will be energy efficient, I presume they will be noticeably faster than my current sandy bridge CPU?

Bear in mind I'm not too fussed about integrated graphics performance for games (my main rig handles that) but overall CPU performance and the ability to handle CAD/CAM drawings/photoshop etc will be my main interest.

I am watching this closely as I need a laptop. It seems that the power draw is significantly reduced down to 4.5W. There is a new Asus Zenbook UX305, that uses the tech but it seems that it is sacrificing CPU power in favour of more efficiency. It looks like a way of Apple maintaining battery life but facilitating the use of full HD or retina screens in the Macbook air range.

Thats what I am hoping for at least. I'd love a MBA for the sheer desgn beauty but the screen rez is out of kilter with the price and competiton.

http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/22111/intel-broadwell-release-date-macbook-air-will-use-5th-gen-core

 

[lamboman]

Anandtech's review of the Dell XPS 13 (battery life page linked as it's almost certainly the most important factor here) is going to be fairly representative of the kind of improvements you'll see from a Broadwell MacBook Air (though the rumours are that it'll be a Broadwell refresh rather than a completely new machine). The Dell has a 52Wh battery, the MacBook Air a 54Wh battery, so virtually identical. A fairly significant leap (expect even longer battery life with a Broadwell MBA).

Performance won't be a massive upgrade over a Sandy Bridge machine (here are the 2011 MBA and XPS 13 benchmarks for comparison).

On a separate note, the Dell actually seems to be a pretty awesome machine on paper (I haven't read that review however). Of course, aside from the scaling issues with Windows, and the crappy trackpads in virtually all Windows notebooks, it'll probably be a pretty great thing. Non-touch 1080p model would be my pick if I were in the market for a Windows notebook (which I am most certainly not ).