Macbook Pro (2017): The Future Starts With Kaby Lake

Apple’s newest laptop offers a speed boost over its predecessor, and we might even see bigger gains once macOS High Sierra is released.

- Roman Loyola

Did you hear cries of regret and maybe a few cuss words in the background during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (go.macworld.com/wdco) keynote? If you did, it was from folks who bought a MacBook Pro (go.macworld.com/mbr) in the past few weeks. You see, during WWDC, Apple revealed an upgrade to the MacBook Pro to replace the models that were released just last fall (go.macworld.com/fall).

Now, on the surface, the new MacBook Pro looks exactly the same, but all of the changes are found under-the-hood via performance bumps. And our test results do show an expected increase in speed, but it’s not enough to induce serious buyer’s remorse in anyone who recently bought a MacBook Pro of the previous generation— though it may spark a bit of envy.

(This review covers Apple’s top-of-the line model, a 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 2.9GHz processor. This particular model sells for $2,799.)

WHAT’S CHANGED

The heart of the MacBook Pro is where you’ll find the major change. All MacBook Pro models now feature Intel’s Kaby Lake processors, which replace the Skylake processors found in the previous MacBook Pro. For this review, a Kaby Lake 2.9GHz quad-core Core i7 in the model I reviewed replaces a Skylake 2.7GHz quad-core Core i7.

Another major change is the graphics technology. The $2,799 model now has the Intel HD Graphics 630 instead of the Intel HD Graphics 530 as integrated graphics. The discrete high-performance graphics chip is now a 4GB Radeon Pro 560, which replaces a 4GB Radeon Pro 460.

WHAT’S THE SAME