Why 16-inch MacBook Pro Uses 9th Gen Intel Chipset Instead Of 10th Gen?

Apple has officially unveiled its first 16-inch MacBook Pro with a ton of new upgrades. The new laptop brings features like a high-resolution retina display with P3 color gamut support, improved thermal performance, a bigger battery, and a new speaker system.

One of the major speculations that did rounds before the launch of the 16-inch MacBook Pro is that the device will be powered by a 10th Gen Intel processor. However, both models of the MacBook Pro are now based on the 9th Gen Intel processor.

Though it has already been a few months after the announcement of the 10th Gen Intel mobile chipsets, Apple has gone with a 9th Gen and here is the prime reason.

It's All About TDP

TDP or thermal design power is a measure of power consumption by a CPU or GPU. A chipset with high TDP consumes more power, whereas, a chipset with low TDP consumes less power. Apple's MacBook Pro series is known for its low-TPD components like CPU and GPU which results in offering better battery life.

According to rumors, Intel is yet to launch a low-TDP 10th Gen Intel chipset that has made Apple go with the 9th Gen Intel chipset.

Disadvantages Of Using 9th Gen Chipset Over 10th Gen

Though the difference in the number might not seem that of an upgrade. However, the 10th Gen Intel chipsets are based on 10nm architecture, whereas, the 9th Gen Intel chipsets are based on 14nm architecture.

A 10th Gen Intel chipset will be much more efficient compared to the 9th Gen Intel chipset. Ex: a 10th Gen chipset will consume less power to complete the same task compared to a 9th Gen chipset. This will result in longer battery life, especially on laptops.

Besides, the 10th Gen Intel chipsets also come with a built-in Wi-Fi 6 support that offers up to 10Gbps of download speed. In fact, the iPhone 11 series does support Wi-Fi 6 networks.

Though the overall product seems interesting, it is hard to recommend this device, since a laptop with 10th Gen Intel chipset will definitely age gracefully compared to a laptop with a 9th Gen chipset, which is again similar to the 8th Gen and 7th Gen Intel chipsets.