3DMark confirms 28 W processor for next MacBook Pro; up to 32 GB of RAM and a 4 TB SSD too, but no Ryzen 4000 Renoir options

While WWDC is Apple's next big event of 2020, rumour has it that the company is planning to release a smaller MacBook Pro refresh this month. Codenamed J223, the MacBook Pro is expected to feature Apple's new Magic Keyboard, which the company has already rolled out to the MacBook Air and the MacBook Pro 16. 

An upgrade to a 14-inch display has also been touted as a "big possibility". The publication of another benchmark listing has seemingly all but confirmed what processors Apple on which has based its next smaller MacBook Pro, too. Spotted by @_rogame on 3DMark running a Core i7-1068NG7, the upcoming smaller MacBook Pro looks nailed on for an Ice Lake-U series upgrade.

This is not the first time that we have seen a Core i7-1068NG7-powered MacBook Pro on 3DMark either, nor one with 32 GB of RAM. While the latter is an upgrade over the maximum of 16 GB that Apple currently offers with the latest MacBook Pro 13, the presence of a 4 TB SSD this time around is another upgrade too.

Intel is yet to confirm the existence of the Core i7-1068NG7, for clarity. However, the three NG processors that Apple offers with the latest MacBook Air indicate how the processor would compare against the Core i7-1068G7.

Clocked at a base of 2.3 GHz, the Core i7-1068G7 can reach 4.1 GHz on a TDP of 28 W. The CPU includes 8 MB of L3 cache and has an Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 GPU that can boost up to 1,100 MHz. Incidentally, the Core i7-1068G7 shares the last two details with the Core i7-1065G7.

Based on the NG processors that Apple offers with the latest MacBook Air, the Core i7-1068NG7 would not have a configurable TDP, nor would it support Intel Optane Memory or Trusted Execution Technology. The Core i7-1068NG7 should have a smaller package size than the regular Core i7-1068G7 too.

Undoubtedly, a MacBook Pro equipped with 32 GB of RAM, a 28 W Core i7 processor and a 4 TB SSD would be of Apple's upper-tier models, if not the most expensive one that it offers. Either way, current MacBook Pro suggests that this model would cost well over US$3,000. 

With that said, Apple generally equips its entry-level MacBook Pro 13 with a Core i5 processor, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. If that follows with the 2020 refresh, then we may see the Core i5-1035NG7. Additionally, Apple typically offers two Core i7 processors, which is where the Core i7-1065NG7 would come in.

Those three Ice Lake-U series processors are unlikely to offer the processor performance of Renoir chips. However, they would provide a significant boost over the Whiskey Lake-U series with which Apple equips the current MacBook Pro 13. The same applies to GPU performance.