How Apple could be releasing Sandybridge MacBook Pros sooner


Trust me when I say this is a little hard to type. Days after I proudly clicked the “buy now” button on a new (old) 13″ MacBook Pro thinking the next generation of Sandybridge powered Macs would be delayed for months, news saying otherwise shows up.

PC World posted an article that reveals the shipping date of dual-core Sandybridge CPUs to roughly be February 20th. Computer manufactures will start using the dual-Core i5 and i7 processors first.

The first Sandy Bridge processors to ship were quad-core chips, mainly for high-end laptops. The dual-core chips will likely go into end-user and ultraportable laptops, many of which were shown at last month’s Consumer Electronics Show. Fujitsu said it plans to use dual-core Core i7 chips in its high-end ultraportable laptops.

But didn’t Intel announce a massive delay in shipping Sandybridge CPUs and Chipsets, can anyone – including Apple – even ship a functioning laptop?

Yes and no.

The reason for Intel to announce a recall was due to the company finding a flaw in the Sandybridge Chipset. Overtime the Chipset’s SATA connections could degrade causing a serious performance hit. However, the problem doesn’t affect the first two SATA ports which Intel is heavily pitching to OEMs – including Apple – to speed up the launch time of laptops powered by its newest CPUs. This could give Apple an opportunity to introduce Sandybridge powered Macs as the two non-affected ports would be connecting the Hard Drive and potentially an Optical Drive.

A leaked screenshot from a internal Best Buy product database gives further evidence for a spring MacBook Pro launch.


Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

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