Apple’s rumored 13-inch MacBook Pro may use 10th-gen Intel chips

Late last year, Apple introduced the redesigned 16-inch MacBook Pro, which boasted not only smaller bezels around the display but also a new scissor switch style keyboard.

The move away from the butterfly keyboard was a primary feature of the new MacBook Pro, but some folks might not want the bigger display, or higher price tag, when adopting the newest Pro portable Mac. So that’s where a 13-inch MacBook Pro could come in handy for Apple, and, indeed, the rumor mill has suggested in the past that Apple is working on a redesigned 13-inch MacBook Pro with the smaller bezels and the new (old) keyboard design.

The rumor we heard back in November suggested the new portable Mac could arrive in early 2020, and there is speculation that it may launch in March (when the company is also rumored to host a media event before the end of the month). And while details are slim at this point, a new rumor suggests the 13-inch MacBook Pro could use 10th-generation Intel chips under the hood.

Over the course of last weekend, Twitter user @_rogame posted 3D Mark Time Spy benchmarks of a machine said to be the unannounced 13-inch MacBook Pro. The data reveals that the machine is using Intel’s i7-1068NG7 Ice Lake chip, which is clocked at 2.3GHz and capable of 4.1GHz thanks to Intel’s Turbo Boost feature (via MacRumors, Wccftech).

If these benchmarks are the real deal, it suggests that the new 13-inch MacBook Pro is about 12 percent faster than the current 13-inch MacBook Pro. Not a huge increase by any means, but certainly noteworthy in its own right. The big boost comes in the form of GPU speeds, which, if the benchmarks are accurate, suggests the new 13-inch model is 30% faster than the current one.

If Apple launches the new, redesigned 13-inch MacBook Pro with 10th-gen Intel chips under the hood, it would make the first time the company has done so. However, things could change and these benchmarks might not be real. Still, it all looks very promising.

Whatever the case, if Apple is planning to announce a new 13-inch MacBook Pro in March, we don’t have long to wait until it all gets revealed one way or another.

If Apple does launch a new 13-inch MacBook Pro with the updated keyboard design, will you pick one up?