2015 Apple MacBook Air Release with Intel 5th Gen Broadwell Core, To Greatly Improve Battery Life; Intel Plans for Even Smaller Chips in 2016

By Staff Writer

Feb 24 2015, 03:07 AM EST

With MacBook Air 2015 reportedly shipping with Intel's Broadwell 5th Gen Core, the upcoming device from Apple is expected to have 90 minutes more battery life and faster performance compared to laptops running on 4th Gen Haswell processors. Meanwhile, existing MacBook Air models get a refresh to be unveiled in a February 24 event.

Despite the delays in the release of the fifth gen Broadwell processors, Intel's latest chips are set to power MacBook Air 2015, which will give it 90 minutes more battery life, repots IT Pro. Specifically, Apple's MacBook Air 2015 is expected to use the power-efficient and fanless Broadwell-Y Core M processor.

Apart from battery life improvements and a reduced size, the fifth gen core chips also promise more graphics power and processing improvements. Additionally, the chips offer support for RealSense 3D technology for gesture control and 3D capturing and editing.

Intel will also feature a voice assistant to control apps and content, and wake up machines through voice commands. Intel's Wireless Display 5 (WiDi), 4K display technology, and Wireless docking are also supported.

While the MacBook Air 2015's release date is still undetermined, The Inquirer reports incremental updates to be revealed on February 24 in an alleged media event. The update involves Apple's 11-inch and 13-inch MacBook Air variants getting an upgrade to include the Broadwell chips. Prior to the anticipated refresh, Digit.in mentions MacBook Airs getting a refresh last April 2014, "giving them a 100MHz speed boost and dropping the price by $100."

Apple is not the only company opting to go with Intel's fifth gen core, with Panasonic reportedly using Broadwell Core i5-5300U in its Toughbook 54. Panasonic's Toughbook 54 is scheduled to come out before February ends. Currently, Broadwell's capabilities are already utilized by Toshiba with its Kira Ultrabooks boasting 13 hours of battery life.

Intel's change from 20nm chips to 14nm chips in Broadwell is not the end of their innovations. A 10nm chip can be expected in 2016 and a 7nm chip will allegedly be made available in 2018.