Apple needs the MacBook Pro 2017 to show off its technological advancements, which have been one of the core values of the Cupertino-based giant aiming to bring something new and innovative in the market. The said desktop is expected to be unveiled during Apple's WWDC event in June though shipping may follow at a much later date.

Amidst recent talks and reports on the discontinuation of the MacBook Pro line, Tim Cook's "do more" in the Pro area still holds, even though it may be vague and non-committal. The crux of the matter is, the Macbook Pro 2017 is still a strategic desktop for Apple and the company's silence is not indicative of abandoning the brand. Apple has always been tight-lipped and this is expected but Pro users may hear of the long-overdue MacBook Pro upgrade which may be during the WWDC 2017 Apple event, PC Advisor reported. The said event is actually focused on software so the spotlight will be on the iOS and MacOS, but the keynote may reveal some important hardware news like it did with the MacBook Pro 2013.

There are substantial indications that the MacBook Pro 2017 is definitely coming as revealed by a Bloomberg report and Apple is bringing new technology with it. For one, it is already designing an ARM-based chip to handle the power requirement of the Touch Bar as well as some of the workloads currently done by the Intel CPU. In the MacBook Pro 2016, the ARM chip only powers the Touch Bar and remains autonomous to the main components, but the new redesign is changing this to ensure prolonged battery life. The ARM-based chip will now handle the low power functionalities including the "Power Nap" feature primarily to reduce power consumption.

Apple may be gradually shifting away from Intel and recent reports suggest a move to AMD Ryzen or the Raven Ridge architecture that is a combination of Ryzen CPUs and Vega-based GPUs. AMD's performance-per-watt value conforms well into Apple's philosophy for the MacBook Pro 2017, which may be indicative of a new partnership. AMD Ryzen CPUs have easily outscored Core i7 processors, especially in multithreaded tasks, making it an ideal fit for a Pro line according to Architosh.com. The current MacBook Pro 2016 has not been that much faster than its predecessor and Apple may improve on this with a combination of performance and battery life boost.

Apple may also be going for a beefier storage with a new 32GB model in the high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro, which will feature the most noteworthy redesign in the lineup. Observers say that a 64GB may also be sound as can be seen in some Dell workstations. Moreover, the upcoming desktop may also have as much as 10 USB 3 ports. If Apple wants Pro users to stop migrating to Windows and Dell devices, then it needs to recapture its niche market that goes way beyond faster chips and more storage.

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Topics Macbook pro 2017, Apple, Arm-based chip, AMD Ryzen, AMD Raven Ridge