Apple Plans to Ditch Intel and Use Custom Mac Chips Starting in 2020

[Clocknova]

I guess I should start making plans for my exit from the Apple ecosystem.

While I've been able to tolerate the closed nature of the iPhone and iPad, since I treat them mostly as appliances, I would not be able to tolerate the same thing on the Mac.

Using Intel CPUs maintains compatibility with the rest of the industry. I can run virtual machines on my Mac running Linux, Windows, or pretty much any x86-based OS. This is crucial to my usage of the platform.

It's unfortunate if this is true and I really hope it isn't.

Couldn't agree more. I've been a Mac user since the very first Mac. I've lived through the PPC transition and the Intel transition, and I'm not doing that again. Switching to Intel chips was the best decision Apple has ever made, and it opened up the platform like nothing before or since. I'm not giving up my entire software library again. Unless these new chips maintain full x86 compatibility, my current Mac will be my last one.

Like you, I also find the encroaching closed ecosystem on the Mac platform to be distasteful. I already have to go out of my way to run non-Apple approved software. I predict a transition to Apple-designed processors will be accompanied by a Mac App Store-only policy, much as iOS currently suffers under. I want no part of that. I hate Windows with a passion, but I'll go there to save my software.

 

[cppguy]

You need to keep in mind that Microsoft is in the same situation. They're transitioning into a cloud service and AI company. Their Windows leader is leaving the company as we speak. Windows itself is transitioning from a physical DVD-in-a-box item to a service in the cloud. And Microsoft is seriously considering an ARM version as well. It may be possible that by 2020 Windows for ARM will become a reality, at which point we no longer need any sort of emulation.

The world is changing. Adobe has renamed Lightroom to Lightroom Classic, and are pushing their CC, which is again service in a cloud. This is the direction we are going, regardless of Apple's move.

The problem with Intel is that it's a 1980s architecture, and they have to carry that heavy legacy, which makes the chip bigger and hotter. Emulation from hardware will have the same problem. If you want to emulate x86 from ARM, it will be a bloated, bogged down chip. Not to mention the legal issues. There's a reason why Apple dropped iOS 32-bit support.

It's probably better to have a binary compiler that takes x86 code and translates it into ARM, although that's easier said than done. It will be expensive to maintain, and won't be bug free by any means.

Legacy compatibility is mainly an issue for the corporate segment, and corporate customers are using Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell desktops, not Mac. Companies like Boeing will depend on x86 for decades to come. So do the small shops who bought a CNC machine and rely on XP for the rest of their lives for their metalworking jobs.

I think an ARM macOS ultrabook may be possible, but the transition will be more gradual. MacBook Pros will remain Intel-based for some time, while MacBook Air may become ARM-based at some point. We cannot possibly predict what the future holds, but 2022 will be a different world than it is today. Just like pre-2008 was different, with Palm Pilots and Nokia Communicators.

 

[Xde]

Many want Marzipan, dont know what they want with iOS playground on a computer, but well...
This thing, Kalameta, is the next bigger hit. And I knew, why I stopped with 10.9. Not that I didnt tried all new versions, but most of developement and progress of OS X (aka MacOs) the last years was not to my linking. This evolution is against me.

 

[zzzachi]

darn what a crap!
apples problem is not availability of chips,
it is their attitude not to use whats out there
and instead going their own ways
which lead always to very bad results for the desktops.

there could have been a myriad of better imacs and mac pros in the last 5 years
if apple only would have built machines with the existing chips.

in this sense their intent is not to have more control about availability of chips
but to use non standards to (price) protect their own systems

 

[CodeJoy]

Here's a clip on Windows on ARM for anyone interested:

 

[haralds]

didnt they learn their lesson the first time?

Yes. PPC was dependent on other developers. X86 is dependent on Intel. The Apple ARM extended architecture is under Apple control and progressing much faster than the others did. It also allows the evolution of the feature set on what is best for Apple's use case. Remember, that most people do not care about the underlying technology and what is carried by hardware vs software.

 

[techwhiz]

Yes. PPC was dependent on other developers. X86 is dependent on Intel. The Apple ARM extended architecture is under Apple control and progressing much faster than the others did. It also allows the evolution of the feature set on what is best for Apple's use case. Remember, that most people do not care about the underlying technology and what is carried by hardware vs software.

Just one correction.
AIM was a consortium of Apple, IBM and Motorola for the PPC architecture.
AIM had their failure in IBM not interested in laptop processors and power reduction.

 

[nt5672]

What? What Intel processor have they crippled to save battery life? Or are you referring to the iPhone, that doesn't use an Intel processor at all and was the one product affected by their induced crippling to preserve battery life?

Try researching Apple' poor heat design in laptops, iMac, and mini. Apple does cripple the CPU when it starts to heat up. Apple does it in a way that does not show up in standardized performance tests. If you ever try to use Apple hardware for serious computing, it becomes obvious.

 

[69650]

With the increasing prominance of cloud based app’s it doesn’t matter what OS or Chip you use anymore.

 

[east85]

I'm not exactly well versed on this so my rationale is obviously not infallible but Apple completely abandoning Intel seems pretty far fetched, though I suppose not impossible. I may be wrong down the road but I think it's more likely that this rumor is false and Apple will just continue to beef up ARM coprocessors in an effort to extend native iOS app compatibility to macOS without emulation or performance tradeoffs- all while maintaining integration with intel. For a good example of consumer facing tradeoffs in porting the functionality of an entire mobile app store just have a look at the state of ChromeOS.

 

[ipponrg]

With the increasing prominance of cloud based app’s it doesn’t matter what OS or Chip you use anymore.

Not everyone does work in the cloud nor do they need to. But yes, that's the perk of cloud computing.

 

[techwhiz]

With the increasing prominance of cloud based app’s it doesn’t matter what OS or Chip you use anymore.

I won't compute in the cloud or put my data there.
One word -> Facebook.

 

[lysingur]

I registered here recently. It only counts if it's posted here?

I’d be very interested to see your post and reasoning (rather than just pure conjecture). Of course it doesn’t have to be on here.

 

[CodeJoy]

Try researching Apple' poor heat design in laptops, iMac, and mini. Apple does cripple the CPU when it starts to heat up. Apple does it in a way that does not show up in standardized performance tests. If you ever try to use Apple hardware for serious computing, it becomes obvious.

Every modern CPU drops clock speed when it gets too hot. This is not Apple crippling the CPU, it's the CPU protecting itself from damage. Apple is of course responsible for the inadequate cooling that is the root cause. It's a side effect of the design, but it's the same with pretty much every modern laptop. Of course, with Apple, I think every single Mac product throttles in this way, not just laptops...

 

[lysingur]

Its also a very expensive option, plus AMD only. AMD cannot compete with Nvidia 1080ti - still to this day, despite the Ti being several years old.

Whether AMD or Nvidia is better is a whole different debate all together. Yes, expensive but it’s not like any Apple solution is cheap.

 

[techwhiz]

Every modern CPU drops clock speed when it gets too hot. This is not Apple crippling the CPU, it's the CPU protecting itself from damage. Apple is of course responsible for the inadequate cooling that is the root cause. It's a side effect of the design, but it's the same with pretty much every modern laptop. Of course, with Apple, I think every single Mac product throttles in this way, not just laptops...

It's every CPU that's in a laptop, desktop, tablet or cell phone.
Intel, Qualcomm, Samsung, Apple, AMD, etc all throttle to protect the chip and limit the effects of electromigration and long term failure.
A device that constantly throttles or throttles early is an example of poor thermal design.

 

[Michael Scrip]

Control? For what? They don't even use all that Intel makes available, entire Intel generations come an go without Apple using a single chip in some product lines.

Very true.

Intel released 37 processors so far in their current 8th-generation processor series... 45 processors in the 7th-generation... and 60 processors in the 6th-generation.

That's 142 different Intel processors in the last few years alone. And that's just in their Core series... I didn't even count their Xeon processor lines.

Granted... Apple only uses certain higher-end processors.

But I still can't see Intel as the reason for Apple's lack of updated computers.

 

[JohnH108]

Could this be an attempt to stop the Hackintosh?

 

[Sydde]

Could this be an attempt to stop the Hackintosh?

Not in and of itself. If Apple were genuinely concerned about that, every Intel-based Mac would have had some sort of hardwired logic to prevent the OS from running on unauthorized hardware.

 

[shplock]

Well, so it's beginning. I wonder how many people will choose to move on from Apple due to lack of X86 support. I for one will not be buying a Mac that I cannot run windows on

I respectfully disagree. I used to run Windows a lot and since moving to Mac I do not miss it at all. In my long experience Windows is generally a pain in the bum. I have lost count of the major problems I kept having. Whether by Microsoft's fault or just poor OS design etc. Whereas with Mac I have had far less issues. The issues I have had tend to be minor ones.
But each to their own.

 

[Heineken]

I’d be very interested to see your post and reasoning (rather than just pure conjecture). Of course it doesn’t have to be on here.

Well it's in my head. I don't run to post it somewhere if i think of something so obvious.

 

[2499723]

It’s easy to forget that Apple has historically weathered CPU transitions incredibly well. The 68k to PPC transition was almost seamless (though there were some exceptions). The move to Intel from PPC was slightly rockier, but Rosetta was incredibly robust. They’ll have a transition plan for a move to ARM from x86, and for those of us who have been using Apple computers since the early 90s or earlier, this is hardly unprecedented. I used to be opposed to a move away from x86, but have recently started feeling quite intrigued by a transition to ARM. The A-series chips are quite phenomenal.

 

[jonblatho]

Awesome news, it's about time. I look forward to Apple having more control over releases and the feature set. It probably makes sense to go back to the drawing board for macOS, potentially built on iOS, but for the desktop environment. As someone who strictly uses iOS, I think this is great news.

Haven’t flipped through all the comments yet, but you’re probably getting a lot of flak for saying this. I agree with the sentiment completely, though: With UIKit on macOS, it makes sense for iOS to be the OS Apple works on first, then features trickle down to macOS, watchOS, and tvOS. The more I think about it, the more “right” it feels.

 

[cram501]

It’s easy to forget that Apple has historically weathered CPU transitions incredibly well. The 68k to PPC transition was almost seamless (though there were some exceptions). The move to Intel from PPC was slightly rockier, but Rosetta was incredibly robust. They’ll have a transition plan for a move to ARM from x86, and for those of us who have been using Apple computers since the early 90s or earlier, this is hardly unprecedented. I used to be opposed to a move away from x86, but have recently started feeling quite intrigued by a transition to ARM. The A-series chips are quite phenomenal.

It will be interesting to see what they come up with. I for one will need to drop MacOs if I can't run my linux and windows vm's. I chose to use MacOs because I like it but it's not a requirement.

I'm wondering what percentage of future sales they would lose transitioning to ARM. I have to believe it would be sizable.

 

[barmann]

What is the modern way compared to the ancient way of the iOS, can you give an example?

Any Mac, Linux or Windows OS .
You should try it one day; computers can do wonderful things .