A14X Chip for First Apple Silicon Mac and New iPad Pro to Enter Mass Production in Fourth Quarter

[amartinez1660]

Gonna need a lot more than 8 performance cores for it to be useful, even if those are super fast. I am expecting 30 odd cores in my next desktop and perhaps at least 12 in a MacBook Pro.

What do you mean? How did you arrive to that conclusion?
iPad Pro’s 2018s chip is faster, efficient and more performant across all the board than 2020s active cooled intel 10th gen used on high end Macbook Pros 13”. There are videos showing iPad Pro editing 4K+ footage real-time in situations where $2k, $5k and $10k worth desktops chugged on that specific task.
I think it will just get better exponentially. Besides, 12 cores is already a very high number for what tends to be still mostly a single core driven world except in parallelize-able situations.

 

[PickUrPoison]

12 cores? Safari will be so much snappier.

Everything will be so much snappier 🙂

 

[Wando64]

If Apple is going to use iPad chips in full fledged computers I am worried...

Or you could just change your perspective and consider that they might be using "fully fledged computer" chips on their iPads.

 

[itsmilo]

I would like mobile data on it. Still don’t understand why laptops don’t have mobile data built in, in general

 

[bobob]

I'm surprised these rumors are still going with the A14X name for the Mac chipset - - there's no way marketing-wise it's not going to have a new naming convention.

 

[foobarbaz]

Interesting that all Mac processors will have 12 cores. If they're planning multiple Macs, it will be interesting how they'll differentiate them.

My guess would have been 4+4 cores for iPad and 12-inch MacBook and 8+4 cores for 13-inch MacBook Pro (and entry-level iMac).

But if they're only making one chip, maybe that means only one laptop this year. Or maybe the 13 inch will be faster because of cooling or a bigger GPU.

 

[Stevenjmay]

Apple doesn’t believe in warehousing, since the late 1990s. That was one of Tim Apple’s first big wins.

Google just-in-time inventory.

There’s validity in that comment, however there will likely be a part supply chain to build through (you wouldn’t just throw the parts away). Additionally may be contractually obligated to continue to build systems to certain amount (third party vendor pre orders etc). The chain is responsive but not instantaneous!

 

[Zed Jones]

I imagine Apple is fully aware that the first Apple Silicon Mac out of the door absolutely has to pulverize expectations by being mind-bogglingly stupendous, otherwise shareholders will lose confidence and customers will lose interest.

While literally nearly any graphics chip on the market could handily crush the performance of Intel's terrible 6xx line (and likely their forthcoming Xe line), I myself remain skeptical Apple Silicon can match or obliterate AMD's GPU and CPU performance... but maybe Apple has an ace or two up its sleeve that is yet to be revealed. Fingers crossed.

 

[MRrainer]

I have to say, I'm somewhat pumped for these chips to finally hit the market.

The only thing I ask myself if VMWare will make a product to run ARM-Linux and BSD on that silicon.

 

[kazmac]

Here’s hoping my 2013 27” iMac will hold out for at least one more year.

I’ll wait until next week to see what updates the iPad? and iPad Air? receive before upgrading.

 

[ruka.snow]

30 cores...? What made you arrive at that number as an expectation?

I currently can max out 24 cores in my day to day, so aye I would be looking for more in my next machine. Ideally 32/64+ performance cores in a desktop. 12/16 is acceptable in the constraints of a laptop.

 

[ruka.snow]

What do you mean? How did you arrive to that conclusion?
iPad Pro’s 2018s chip is faster, efficient and more performant across all the board than 2020s active cooled intel 10th gen used on high end Macbook Pros 13”. There are videos showing iPad Pro editing 4K+ footage real-time in situations where $2k, $5k and $10k worth desktops chugged on that specific task.
I think it will just get better exponentially. Besides, 12 cores is already a very high number for what tends to be still mostly a single core driven world except in parallelize-able situations.

12 cores is obviously a lot of people that aren't using their machines for much. And you missed that I am expecting 30 for the desktop and wanting at least 16 for mobile. I am already able to max out 24 cores and had 12 cores in 2010.

 

[jezbd1997]

That means guaranteed no ARM Macs this year. Apple won't introduce them in December but rather wait for Q1 in that case.
(Chip allegedly not in product yet. Takes about 2 months before sales. September Apple Watch, October/November iPhone, leaves December only)

Incorrect. Apple said it would be shipping a Mac with their own chips by the end of the year.
There’s rumours of the October event including at least one Mac, it deserves a proper event.
Other than that a likely 16inch refresh with 10th gen Intel in November

 

[James Godfrey]

In these times no one can predict when things are getting released, Q1 for next iPad Pro (that’s IF production can be met) we have a winter to go through with the coronavirus and I can see everything getting delayed even further next year, I am not expecting the next gen iPad Pro until Mid-Late 2021 at the earliest... however I am waiting until Tuesday just in case Apple release a spec bump to the current iPP at least.

 

[Tovenaar]

$25 billion is a lot of money. Can someone explain why it costs so much to create a new manufacturing process?

 

[otternonsense]

I'm very, very interested to see if they'll finally refresh the industrial design of the entire Mac family as well (except the latest cheesegrate Mac Pro perhaps), which is now SO long in the tooth it's become a saber.

 

[canned_tuna_og]

Until these two are one device I’m not interested in either of them.

For me, Mac needs touch/detachable keyboard or iPad needs much better software.

One of those is going to happen, it’s inevitable, just might take another decade.

Agreed. Enough with the Apple bites, Tim. The '07 iPhone reformed mobile tech. That was eons ago. In '20, Tim gives us AirTags 🥱 I want touch keyboards for MacBook. Give us something innovative this decade.

 

[mymacrumorsname]

Am not too excited about specs. I am interested in how well Apple’s own processors will integrate into Apple’s own ecosystem.

 

[Azrael9]

A14x.

In an iPad, that's going to be brutal fast.

It's going to be enlightening in a Macbook.

*Watching with great interest.

Azrael.

 

[Dave245]

At this point I wish I had purchased the new iPad Pro when it was announced. It looks like the next one will be updated around March April time.

 

[chucker23n1]

Very intriguing. Wish we can have rumors about the A15 or whatever Apple is going to use for the MacBook Pro/iMac. Still remember how the first Intel Macs were 32 bit core Duos and got deprecated fairly quickly. So I don’t think it’s wise getting these early Apple silicon Macs.

Well, depending on what "fairly quickly" means. Those 32-bit Macs only shipped until mid-'07. The first macOS not to support them was Lion, in '11. So, four to five years of full support.

 

[chucker23n1]

I would like mobile data on it. Still don’t understand why laptops don’t have mobile data built in, in general

Snell speculates that cellular could be one of those things new on ARM Macs: https://sixcolors.com/post/2020/07/what-changes-might-be-coming-to-new-mac-hardware/

I hope so.

(I'm sure I'm about to get brigaded, again, with replies mansplaining to me that, aaaaaactually, since there's Instant Hotspot, this feature isn't necessary.)

 

[chucker23n1]

12 cores is obviously a lot of people that aren't using their machines for much. And you missed that I am expecting 30 for the desktop and wanting at least 16 for mobile. I am already able to max out 24 cores and had 12 cores in 2010.

Somehow I don't think people who max out 24 cores are the core audience Apple (or almost any company) is looking for.

 

[chucker23n1]

I'm surprised these rumors are still going with the A14X name for the Mac chipset - - there's no way marketing-wise it's not going to have a new naming convention.

A14X could just be the one shared by the iPad Pro and 12-inch MacBook and/or MacBook Air.

Higher-level products probably need a more flexible naming convention. Something like A14M.1 (13-inch Pro), .2 (16-inch Pro, low-end iMac, Mac mini), .3 (high-end iMac) through A14M.4 (Mac Pro), maybe.

 

[Philip_S]

$25 billion is a lot of money. Can someone explain why it costs so much to create a new manufacturing process?

Because most of the production line needs to be replaced, and everything needs to be incredibly clean, plus the volume is small so they are basically building completely custom equipment for their factories, much of which is right at the limits of mechanical engineering, photonics, and so on, before you even get into the electronic engineering and quantum physics of chip design.