- Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is expected to announce its switch from Intel to ARM chips for the Mac product line at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this month
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) is expected to announce its switch from Intel to ARM chips for the Mac product line at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this month, according to a Bloomberg report. WWDC will be hosted virtually this year on June 22 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the event, Apple will likely unveil iOS 14, macOS 10.16, and watchOS 7.
For iPhones and iPads, Apple has been using proprietary A-series chipsets based on the ARM architecture so it seems natural that Apple would pursue a similar strategy for its laptops and desktops. After making the announcement this month, Apple will give time for Mac developers to get their apps prepared when the first Macs with ARM-based chips start shipping in 2021.
SoftBank Group Corp (OTCMKTS: SFTBY) acquired ARM for about $32 billion in 2016.
It is believed that Apple that the ARM-based chips are going to be 12-core and feature its own custom design. And the chip is expected to run on a 5-nanometer fabrication process. By switching from Intel to ARM, it should improve the performance and battery efficiency of Macs. This means that Apple could also potentially make its laptops even thinner and lighter too.
And the profit margins for the chips should be better for Apple as well. The Bloomberg report also pointed out that the silicon teams at Apple saw gains in GPU and artificial intelligence performance with the new chips.
This is going to be the first time in Apple’s history that it will be using Apple-based processors for Macs. Apple moved from Motorola processors to PowerPC in the early 1990s. And at WWDC in 2005, Steve Jobs announced the switch from PowerPC to Intel processors.
Johny. Srouji, Senior Vice President of Hardware Technology at Apple, reportedly pushed for the switch as Intel’s annual chip performance gains did not meet company expectations. And Apple’s engineers believe that following Intel’s road map could delay future Macs.
The switch to ARM-based chips is reportedly codenamed Kalamata internally at the company.
