The 2015 MacBook Review
by Ryan Smith on April 14, 2015 10:15 AM ESTOS X Performance
Now that we’ve had a chance to take a look at the construction and component selection of the MacBook, it’s time to get down the business end of the review: performance.
For the sake of brevity I’m not going to completely rehash how Core M works, especially since we just did an in-depth look at the CPU last week. But briefly, from a performance standpoint Core M behaves a lot more like a modern tablet processor than it does a traditional Intel x86 processor. Which is to say that its performance is heavily tuned around performance bursting and racing back to idle, as opposed to more traditional Intel processors which turbo as well, but overall are also designed to hold at relatively high clockspeeds under sustained workloads. Of course all of this is in part dependent on how OEMs go and design their laptops – go stuff a Core i5 in a Surface Pro 3 and watch it throttle – but at the end of the day the point is that Core M is not designed to offer the same kind of high performance under sustained workloads that Intel’s more powerful processors do.
Core M is at its heart still a power optimized Intel Broadwell design, so despite the different Core M branding it’s not all that far removed from the dual-core Broadwell-U processors in the MacBook Air and 13” Retina MacBook Pro. What sets it apart along with its package and power optimizations are its much lower power threshold – the official TDP is just 4.5W, while it can burst higher for short periods of time – and the fact that it’s designed for systems with less cooling than Broadwell-U. Case in point of course is the MacBook, which utilizes a simple aluminum case without any kind of fans (active cooling). The end result is that for workloads that go longer than a short burst, Core M’s performance is tightly coupled to the cooling capabilities of the laptop it’s in.
Ultimately what this means is that we expect that the MacBook should be able to compete with its larger brothers in those short, bursty workloads that Core M is optimized for, while in sustained workloads it’s going to fall behind MacBook Air and other laptops using Intel’s larger 15W processors.
We’ll kick things off quickly with a look at boot time. On an absolute basis the MacBook doesn’t do too poorly, but on a relative basis it’s behind a lot of our other MacBooks. To be clear here this is a historical chart – each machine is running the version of OS X it launched with – so the only Yosemite MacBook here is the 2015 MacBook. Still, whether it’s Core M or Yosemite, it shows that Apple’s boot times here aren’t quite as good as they have been in the past.
Switching gears, we have an example of a semi-bursty workload with a couple of our web benchmarks. These benchmarks run a number of sub-tests, and as a result the MacBook gets a brief respite between benchmarks. Plus this gives us a chance to compare the MacBook to tablets, including of course the iPad Air 2. Meanwhile since we’ve also just recently looked at several Core M devices, I’ve also included those to provide a point of comparison to other Core M devices.
Truth be told these results are a bit surprising, though not for good reasons. The MacBook ends up being a laggard against both of our other Core M devices. Since each platform is running a high performance browser (either Safari or Chrome) and from hardware capabilities standpoint these Core M devices are all relatively close, I suspect what we’re seeing here is that OS X Safari as not as well tuned as iOS Safari is.
Compared to the tablets on the other hand the MacBook is still well ahead of any of the tablets – as it should be with Core M’s greater power consumption and the larger chassis – but there’s no denying that by scaling down the MacBook so far, the performance gap between tablet and laptop has shrunk significantly. The MacBook is less than 2x faster than the iPad Air 2 in both benchmarks, which means that within a couple of generations it’s likely that the iPad will exceed the current MacBook’s scores. If my earlier hunch about Safari optimizations is correct and OS X needs some more tuning, then the MacBook is farther ahead than what these benchmarks show. Still, it goes to show that although the MacBook is well ahead of tablets, it’s not leaps and bounds ahead like more powerful laptops would be.
Meanwhile our large collection of Cinebench 11.5 results helps put Core M’s sustained performance in perspective. In both single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads it’s well behind the pack, though in different ways. Single-threaded performance is essentially on par with the 2012 11” MacBook Air (Ivy Bridge), and even as recent as the Core i5-equipped 2014 13” MacBook Air the 2015 MacBook is within 10%. In this case what we’re seeing is a case where a lighter workload allows one of Core M’s CPU cores to stay highly clocked (remember, it turbos up to 2.4GHz), which means it’s actually rather competitive with recent Ultrabooks. Unless forced to throttle, Core M is still Broadwell, and Broadwell flies.
Which means that when Core M is forced to throttle under the multi-threaded workloads, the performance gap widens. Ignoring the rMBP and its 4 cores, where exactly the MacBook places depends in part on the generation of the MacBook it’s compared against, followed by the CPU configuration. The base Core i5s in the MBAs and 13” rMBP are quite capable, with the most powerful of these surpassing the MacBook by upwards of 20%. In that respect the new MacBook is offering multi-threaded performance between the 2011 and 2012 MacBook Airs. On the other hand though we’re talking about the MacBook coming within 20% of larger laptops with much more powerful (15W+ CPUs), so while the MacBook can’t keep up, it’s also delivering quite a bit of performance for its size and power consumption.
Our more recent Cinebench 15 results on the other hand find the MacBook at the bottom. Though this is in part due to a much smaller dataset we have (and mostly composed of rMBPs), it does drive home the point of just how wide the gap is between the rMBP and the new MacBook. If you want a powerful Mac capable of fast sustained performance, you’re going to want a MacBook Pro. That said, compared to the 2014 13” MBA, we once again see the MacBook holding up well in the single-threaded benchmark, outright tying last year’s larger MBA. This once again handily illustrates how Core M is no slouch with lightly threaded workloads, and how it’s heavily threaded workloads where it’s really going to need to pull back.
Moving on, we have a look at Photoshop performance with the Retouch Artists Speed Test. This being another multi-threaded test, the MacBook throttles harder and this leaves it towards the rear of the pack. Performance is roughly on par with many of the Core i5 MacBook Airs, but it becomes a more significant gap once we step up to the i7, and I’d expect something similar if compared to a 2015 MacBook Air.
From a throttling standpoint, at just 28 seconds long I don’t believe we’re seeing any kind of significant thermal throttling in this benchmark. Rather the MacBook is falling behind on the basis of maximum clockspeeds and power limits, having to pull back because sustaining 2.4GHz for 28 seconds puts it outside of its power envelope for too long. Meanwhile on a conceptual basis I don’t see such a small laptop as the MacBook being used too much for Photoshop, but out of all of Apple’s ultra-portables, the MacBook does end up being the best fit due to its excellent screen.
| Geekbench 3 Scores (64-bit) | ||
| Single-Threaded | Multi-Threaded | |
| 12" MacBook (2015) | 2358 | 4604 |
| 11" MacBook Air (2015) | 2866 | 5723 |
For our last benchmark we have Geekbench 3. Though a rather synthetic benchmark overall, it’s as close to a standard OS X benchmark as there can be. Pulling the standardized score for the 2015 Core i5 11” MacBook Air, what we find is that the MBA is ahead of the MacBook by a bit over 20% in both the single-threaded and multi-threaded tests. In terms of workloads I’d consider the single-threaded test to be a moderate workload and the multi-threaded test a heavy workload, so these results are generally what I’d expect to find. As neither workload is particularly light, it forces the MacBook to slow down a bit more, putting a bit more of a gap in between it and its Ultrabook-sized sibling.
Meanwhile I also ran the Geekbench 3 stress test for a couple of dozen loops on the MacBook to see how much performance degrades over the long term. The MacBook reaches equilibrium at around 4200, which is a 9% performance regression over a fresh run of the multi-threaded benchmark. Given the MacBook's low thermal limits it actually reaches this point rather quickly, and other sustained workloads should reach equilibrium at a similarly quick pace.
| 12" MacBook Skin Temperatures | ||
| Top | Bottom | |
| Cinebench R15 | 38C | 42C |
| DOTA 2 | 39.5C | 43C |
Finally, while looking at performance under OS X I also took some temperature readings while running Cinebench R15 and DOTA, to get an idea of how hot the MacBook gets under full load. Of the two benchmarks DOTA is the more intensive, pushing the GPU as well as the CPU. Consequently it also ends up being the warmest.
Taken from the top of the MacBook, along the top speaker grill and roughly above where the MacBook’s CPU is, the MacBook heats up to 38C when running Cinebench, and 39.5C when running DOTA 2. These temperatures are similar to the skin temperatures found on most mobile devices, and even then, with the hot spot being in the grill above the keyboard, users shouldn’t be coming in contact with this hot spot.
Meanwhile flipping the MacBook over and measuring the equivalent hot spot on the bottom finds that it’s appreciably warmer. We still haven’t seen a complete teardown of the MacBook, but we expect that the bottom casing is the closest to the CPU and consequently conducts the most heat. In any case we’re looking at 42C when running Cinebench and 43C when running DOTA 2. These temperatures are at the upper end of the comfort spectrum, but shouldn’t be an issue even with long-term use. More importantly, unless actually used in a lap, the MacBook’s rubber feet will keep the laptop propped up and avoiding contact with any surfaces, skin or otherwise.
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lilmoe - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
"I’m going to start where I left off in our introduction, which was the concept of the laptop/tablet crossover. The idea of laptops and tablets crossing over is no longer merely an idea, but now it is reality"Yea. Back here, we call those "Netbooks". But "crossover" sounds cooler.
darwinosx - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
You don't know what a netbook is. They were cheap devices with low quality screens and poor build quality. Try reading the review you are commenting on.lilmoe - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
OK, so it's a better quality netbook. Got it :PvFunct - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
Sorta like how a laptop is a higher quality netbook.Or, how a computer is a higher-quality calculator.
PEJUman - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
Maybe in 2012 laptop is higher quality netbook. I am starting to feel that Anandtech is getting too 'careful' with the OEMs. M9 is bad, call it that. this Macbook fits squarely in the netbook term from functionality standpoint, despite the price premium for the fit and finish. No need to redefine a new 'crossover' term just to keep Apple marketing managers happy.Right now, chromebook and other ultraportables (such as this one) with the relatively slow core M are the de-facto sucessor to netbook. Single usb port also a netbook typical compromise. It not convertible nor it has a touchscreen, so.. NETBOOK.
Tech evolves, therefore performance expectation should evolve with it. the core M is barely faster than a 2012 intel i3-3217U on geekbench. It is the lowest performance tier of Intel big core family.
Anandtech used to be unbiased, I think they finally started the slow descent towards 'marketing for OEM'. I understand where this is coming from, and I am willing to pay for anandtech subscription if that what it takes to restore the one place a techie can get an unbiased, deep dive into new techs.
Purch should differentiate Tom's & Anand by using Tom's for their mainstream, 'marketing compatible portal' while turning Anand into a subscription based portal, with reviews selection based on customer votes, each one completely unbiased, purely technical, pull-no-punches style.
ws3 - Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - link
Something like the transformer book is a modern day netbook: atom processor, $300 price, questionable build quality --- all the traits of a netbook.BittenRottenApple - Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - link
Yet another fine addition to the long list of "Terrible Products Apple Makes to Gouge Money out of People".The new MacBook is a testament to Apple's collapsing technical acumen. They eliminate all ports except for one outdated USB port? This craven stupidity should send the last adherents running. But running to what? Windows isn't even a viable option anymore, since it now is the most widespread commercial NSA gathering tool available, closely followed by Android, iOS and OS X.
It's a sad day for people who need real computers. Jony Ive is a pompous, clueless hack who should be fired for introducing crippling regressions like this one.
Look at this POS: One USB port, which will require an adapter to do anything. So if you're going to require an adapter anyway, why not make that one port a modern one: Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt can carry USB, video, Ethernet, external storage... ALL AT ONCE. And it can be daisy-chained, which is hugely important when the computer has ONLY ONE PORT. So WTF is Apple doing making its sole port USB?
And again, are you kidding me? One tiny USB connector? Now every sorry user of this pos has to find a thunderbolt to USB C, a USB C to USB to HDMI, a USB to USB 3.0 period, a USB C to USB connector for apple’s time machine and also manage to don't short circuit all that with the AC/DC to USB C connectors, seriously ? Worth 200$ new pile of hairy connectors for the brand new gold macbook air, and that is called a revolution nowadays? No ********** way, the Dell XPS 13 is way superior, period.
By the way, they're perpetrating USB Type C connectors. Thunderbolt is a much-needed step to a modern I/O standard. USB is an outdated, abused standard that was designed for keyboards, mice, and modems. It's not suitable for external storage, video, or anything else requiring bulk data transfer with minimal CPU overhead. USB C is a regression, a major step BACKWARD.
$1599.99----Less than $550.00 worth of hardware = ~$1000 premium to use OS X instead of windows. (Honestly the most expensive component of this computer is probably the screen.)
Anyone with real work to do will not even be able to buy this thing. My friend’s last Air was neat in that it was small and lasted all day, but it was so under-powered, it was frustrating. I can only imagine how limited this machine will be.
Who cares about price, weight and size, when this product is crippled by a hopelessly defective design? You can't hook up a power adapter and external storage at the same time. You can't hook up an external display and external storage. Hell, you can't even plug in a thumb drive!
This product is the most asinine piece of shit Apple has produced, and that includes the (thankfully) short-lived Shuffle that could only be controlled by a gimped Morse code.
$700 less gets you the new Dell XPS 13 which will eat the Mac's lunch.
If you need to do a lot of processor intensive work, than you would not even go near this thing. It would be useless to you. If you need to crunch spreadsheets or are heavy in corporate analysis, this computer would also be useless to you.
This is the kind of computer that Apple sells a lot of. This computer is largely useless for anything other than email and facebook. It cannot store many files, it cannot process much information, and it has one external port. There is nothing wrong with using this computer for casual tasks, but it is CERTAINLY not a productivity machine.
It is what it is. A status symbol/statement. Or some other statement. A statement that you just bought a $400 netbook with a $900 case so you can show off in front of your hipster friends.
I hate to stick to Apple only facts here, but Apple said that the Air is 24% thicker than this new Macbook. That does NOT mean that the new Macbook is 24% thinner than the Air, it means that it is ~20% thinner than the Air. They clearly phrased it that way to make it sound more impressive and hence dupe the consumer, aka stupid isheep.
So, it's an iPad plus with a keyboard and an over expensive dongle so you can do everything a Dell can do, at twice the price while looking posh.
And here I thought technology was about function over form. I get it, functional art; art I can do things my phone does, but in a space that anyone can see me doing it, stylishly. Crippled and non standard in-house branded "business" software does great, can't do anything really artistic on it except maybe GarageBand or stock filter photo edits to my innumerable selfies, but it's got that partially eaten fruit on the back that screams "money I'm too stupid to keep or invest wisely."
Take my money!
I wouldn't hold my breath.
This is apple's marketing strategy: mind-numbing markup on dirt-cheap, mediocre laptops. They throw together a cheap little laptop, pretty it up with silver or gold paint, and ride the wave of ignorance, outrageous markup, and marketing that they've been using as a business model for many, many years now. The only thing Apple has ever made that's less worthless than all the other crap their conspirators like Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd excrete all day and night by taking advantage of child labour are iOS and OS X which, besides being notoriously crippled and constrained walled gardens, aren’t even worth the hassle unless you also dumped thousands of dollars into other apple products.
Many apple owners I’ve encountered never stop trying to belittle and demean others because they don’t have a Macbook or an iPhone and then try to act like their overpriced apple products are overall better when they are certainly not, by any standard.
Luxury cars, while still worthless crash grabs, usually offer some quality and features that are actually somewhat superior to cheaper competing brands and models.
Macbooks such as this start already expensive as hell with little performance to warrant such outrageous costs. Apple isn’t the luxury car of anything. It’s the luxury car DESIGN with a 4-cylinder under the hood and a tape-deck in the sound system, all with the price tag of "luxury". They sell laptops made cheap in china, using child labour and the same hardware you can find in SO many other laptops, slap their OS on it, put it in a thin case, and then markup the price by 300% to 600%. These are the facts. This laptop in question is nowhere NEAR worth that kind of money. I mean, laptops in general are overpriced, but apple has made their entire business model out of extreme markups backed by clever marketing with little actual technological superiority of any kind. Every single apple product on the market can be outperformed in every way by comparable products. Apple computers can be outperformed by computers that are FAR FAR cheaper while relying on older tech. The only thing that apple has that nobody else does is OSX and iOS, their operating systems. These are mediocre operating systems, but they are literally designed to be limited on anything it determines to be "non-apple hardware". Other operating systems can be installed on just about any computer you can slap together, whereas OSX is specifically and deliberately designed to be non-functional on ANYTHING that isn’t made by apple. It’s nothing but a cash-grab.
Apple is indeed playing run-of-the-mill capitalism, they try to capitalize on the ignorance of the average consumer with marketing campaigns designed to make you assume you're getting your money's worth.
There are millions of consumers who are on the fence, who are actually interested in buying something that's worth the money they spend. Those people deserve factual information and do not deserve to be exploited for their ignorance on the topic. So excuse me if I have a problem with it. College students especially, who don’t have a lot to spend in the first place, are being taken advantage of in every area of their life. Buying a computer should be one less area of exploitation. This is why I have a problem with apple and with many other companies and services that attempt to capitalize on ignorance.
Years down the road when the batteries in this model are dead and you have to keep it plugged in just to use then you'll have no way to plug in a flash drive or an external hard drive. I don't care how sexy it looks: sometimes and more often than not less means a serious lack of functionality.
We can only hope that consumers send this piece of diabolic garbage to oblivion, as they did the idiotic iPod Shuffle that could only be controlled with Morse code over a proprietary headphone wire.
Notwist - Wednesday, April 15, 2015 - link
You literally just typed a small novel spewing a bunch of claims without citing anything to support your arguments, or outright fabricating stuff. It's the absolute definition of a poorly written, complete waste of time. Please take your rants elsewhere, Anandtech readers, last I checked, enjoy discussing tech, not spouting conspiracy theories and raving like lunatics.superflex - Thursday, April 16, 2015 - link
I thought it was quite good.You sound like a butthurt iFanboi
star-affinity - Friday, April 24, 2015 - link
I thought it was bad and not nuanced at all. Things aren't that black and white. Reality comer in many shades.People have the right to have an *informed* opinion. The long post above is unfortunately based mostly on ignorance.