Apple Said to Be Exploring Switch From Intel Chips for the Mac
Apple Inc. (AAPL) is exploring ways to replace Intel Corp. (INTC) processors in its Mac personal computers with a version of the chip technology it uses in the iPhone and iPad, according to people familiar with the company's research.
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second run at an ARM-based Mac rumor in eighteen months: MacRumors reported in May 2011 that Apple was weighing a move from Intel to ARM processors in future laptops, and today's Bloomberg report — picked up by eight outlets including TechCrunch, VentureBeat, GigaOM and ZDNet — says the company is exploring a version of its iPhone/iPad chip technology for Macs. Both claims remain unconfirmed by Apple.
The exploration also fits a longer pattern of Apple testing alternatives to Intel: back in April 2010 the company was reported to be in advanced discussions to adopt AMD chips. With the iPad mini launch and a Q3 tablet share dip to 50.4% both confirmed this week, Apple's push to differentiate on its own silicon comes at a moment when it is leaning harder than ever on integrated hardware-software design.
First-order effects
- Intel's Mac socket business — one of its highest-profile design wins — faces renewed uncertainty, since the reported plan would replace x86 processors with Apple's own ARM-derived designs.
- Apple gains a credible path to unify its Mac and iOS chip roadmaps, letting one engineering effort serve iPhones, iPads and potentially laptops.
Second-order effects
- Mac software developers would face a possible architecture transition, and any move would pressure Microsoft and PC OEMs to answer questions about ARM-based Windows machines versus the entrenched Wintel stack.
- Chip suppliers beyond Intel — AMD among them, given the 2010 discussions — become plausible fallback leverage in Apple's negotiations, weakening Intel's pricing position even if no switch happens.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, PC computing shifts from a merchant-silicon monopoly toward vertically integrated, mobile-derived chips, with each major platform owner designing its own processors.
- A successful Apple transition would validate ARM-class power efficiency as sufficient for mainstream computers, accelerating the erosion of the assumption that x86 compatibility is mandatory for personal computing.
The trend: Personal computing is drifting from merchant x86 processors toward vertically integrated, mobile-derived silicon designed by the platform owners themselves, with Apple's Mac roadmap the sharpest test case.