Intel's new 7th-gen chips will turn your MacBook into a 4K-ready beast
Chances are if you've got a PC or a Mac, it's powered by an Intel processor.
The chipmaker rules with an iron fist (sorry, AMD), commanding roughly 85% of the desktop CPU market. And that dominance shows no sign of ending now that Intel has announced its seventh-generation Core-branded processors, codenamed "Kaby Lake." The new chips are designed to help bring 4K video to the masses and allow laptop makers to build even thinner, lighter and more powerful designs.
The new processors will come in Core m3, Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 variants when they make their way to PCs, starting in early September.
You May Also Like
The new 14-nanometer chips are based on the same architecture of last year's Skylake line.
Among the benefits of the new chips (besides improved 4K video playback and creation) are 70 percent faster mobile productivity and 3.5x better 3D performance, according to Intel. However, that's compared to a five-year old PC.
Intel says new laptops that incorporate the chips will be able to play Overwatch in HD and see up to 9.5 hours of 4K video playback thanks to improved Intel integrated graphics.
Additionally, the seventh-gen chips will let content creators edit and view 4K-resolution 360-degree videos without seeing significant performance dips
The new processors will also have better support for Thunderbolt 3 (via USB-C) and Windows Hello, and enable new form factors that make use of touch, voice and a stylus.
For consumers, the new processors will a very welcome update and should make PCs and Macs even more versatile machines in todays's demanding video-centric world. Apple's rumored to be launching new redesigned MacBook Pros this fall and these seventh-gen Intel chips had better be in them.
VR and AR boost
Intel also recently previewed plans for a new standalone virtual reality headset called Project Alloy and Intel says it expects its new chips will play an important role in its partnership with Microsoft on augmented reality (Microsoft HoloLens is powered by a custom processor integrated with an Intel "Cherry Trail" CPU).
Raymond Wong contributed to this report.
Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.
