Apple could ship Haswell-powered MacBook Pros in September: Report

Apple could unveil new Haswell-powred MacBook Pro notebooks as soon as September 10, if a new rumour is to be believed.

According to Hong Kong-based supply chain monitor EMSOne (via Apple Insider), Taiwan-based manufacturers have already started shipping components for new MacBook Pros powered by Intel's fourth-generation Haswell processors to production facilities. However, it's not clear as to which specific MacBook Pro models would receive the upgrade.

Previously, a result on an online benchmark test (Geekbench) had revealed a machine that appeared to be a 15-inch MacBook Pro powered by a 2.4GHz quad-core Haswell processor. It had 16GB of RAM and was running a build of OS X Mavericks, the next iteration of Apple's desktop operating system which is expected to release in fall. Previously a 13-inch MacBook Pro also surfaced online in a similar benchmark test.

Currently Apple's new generation MacBook Air notebooks are the only devices powered by Haswell processors in the company's line-up.

Apple had unveiled new generation MacBook Air notebooks, at its World Wide Developers' Conference in June, however, it had left the Macbook Pro lineup at that point in time. The architecture of the new Haswell-based chips helps in increasing power efficiency and overall performance.

The 11-inch Haswell powered MacBook Air models are capable of up to 9 hours backup, while the 13-inch MacBook Airs boast of an incredible 12 hours of battery life. With Intel HD Graphics 5000 onboard Apple had claimed that the new MacBook Airs would offer up to 40 percent faster graphics performance. The new MacBook Air models come with support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi, that supports speeds up to 1.3Gbps, three times the speeds of 802.11n Wi-Fi.

The MacBook Air now comes with support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi, that supports speeds up to 1.3Gbps, three times the speeds of 802.11n Wi-Fi. All models are powered by fourth-generation 1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 (Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache alongside 4GB RAM, and boast dual-microphones and faster 802.11ac Wi-Fi for improved performance. Two USB 3.0 ports and 1 Thunderbolt port are included in all variants, with the 13-inch MacBook Airs also coming with a SDXC card slot. While the base price of the devices stays the same, Apple doubled the storage capacity onboard.

Intel had released its new fourth-generation Intel Core processors (Haswell) at Computex in Taipei, in June. The processors designed primarily for Ultrabooks, are based on the company's flagship 22nm Haswell micro-architecture. According to Intel, the fourth generation Intel Core processors deliver a 50 percent increase in battery life in active workloads over the previous generation. This is the largest generation-over-generation gain, equating to over 9 hours of battery life in active workloads for some Ultrabooks based on the new processors, as per the company.