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KGI: Apple to Launch Cheaper MacBook Air in 2Q 2018
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And they are completely different code base.
Another point worth mentioning, why would apple piss off intel now when Apple need them most for iphone modem?
The majority of Intel's cellular modem business and revenue comes from Apple so it is Intel who needs Apple.
Going back to my original point, I said I think it would be too soon for Apple to release an all ARM mac without some kind of DP period.
Remember this is supposed to be Q2 (April-June) and I'd expect to see 3-6 months before they'd actually execute an ARM transition.
Even iOS has a preview period between versions and there was a long warning before they dropped 32bit support.
I know 'casual' people who would avoid the macbook ARM if it didn't have MS Office.
Really? Have you ever set foot into a Fortune 500 corporation? Intel is far from dead. I dare you to try to run any type of database client or visualization tool on ARM with any type of real performance. And don't get me started on things like video editing.
Must be nice living in an alternate reality, though.
It's not about running Windows on Mac.
It's about the hand tuned optimizations developers made for x86 over the years. If a developer cares about performance, it's not as simple as feeding code into a compiler and getting a program for ARM.
Developers would have to develop for three platforms: Windows, MacOS, and MacOS (Air). There's enough trouble as it is getting some of the serious commercial software on MacOS.
This could get messy for Microsoft and Apple 
Intel threatening to sue over x86 instruction set emulation. Qualcomm responds with "We look forward to the launch of the always connected Windows 10 PC powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC Platform later this year. As showcased at Computex 2017 in conjunction with Microsoft, the Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC Platform brings a true always connected PC experience with support for up to Gigabit LTE connectivity and all-day battery life for sleek, thin and fanless designs. This will change the future of personal computing."
Round one. Fight!
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/09/intel_sends_arm_a_shot_across_bow/
Intel threatening to sue over x86 instruction set emulation. Qualcomm responds with "We look forward to the launch of the always connected Windows 10 PC powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC Platform later this year. As showcased at Computex 2017 in conjunction with Microsoft, the Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC Platform brings a true always connected PC experience with support for up to Gigabit LTE connectivity and all-day battery life for sleek, thin and fanless designs. This will change the future of personal computing."
Round one. Fight!
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/09/intel_sends_arm_a_shot_across_bow/
Indeed. Microsoft will sell Office on any platform where it makes sense. And they would likely happily develop a version if Apple pays them to develop it.
For the record, I don’t actually expect an ARM Mac this year. I’m just saying that it may happen sooner or later, and if it makes financial sense for Office to be there, it will be there.
For all we know select devs have been working on it behind the scenes for months now...
Yup. I still remember how smooth the PowerPC to Intel transition was. That was remarkable.
And there was also the Xbox 360 running the cut down and skinned Windows 2000 fork on PowerPC.
AMD.This could get messy for Microsoft and Apple
Intel threatening to sue over x86 instruction set emulation.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world including Lenovo and HP have been shipping for years, i7 processors in their notebooks for $799.
A more affordable Intel-based MacBook Air isn't a stretch. It's just aligning with the rest of the world.
It's pretty redundant then for this argument. Customization like this costs $$$ yet we're talking about ARM in cheap Macs. You obviously see that such custom optimization software isn't the target market for the ARM Macs.
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Why would Apple give up their profit margins? That's not maximizing shareholder value and Apple isn't a PC box shifter. To maintain profit margins requires using your in-house technology. Why would Apple continue to out source their CPU chips when they make the best in the business in-house already? ARM Macs are not a matter of if or when any more. It's a matter of now and now is today.
I believe I discussed the idea in an earlier post.
That said, usually something leaks.
Yup, just ordered a Dell Latitude 2-in-1 with an i7 and a Touch Screen. It's about the size as a MacBook Air, too.
Yes. And the reason, as I have mentioned earlier, was significantly better performance of the Intel chips. That is NOT (yet?) the case of ARM vs x86_64 in 2018.
Not entirely, no. This idea that “wireless” is a binary option is puzzling.people still aren’t wireless?
I do embrace wireless - I’ve used BT mice/keyboards for a decade, use Dropbox, iCloud, and OneDrive extensively, have my printer set up wirelessly, and airdrop/iCloud photo sharing pictures to friends.
And yet, I still need ports. External CD drive, usb thumb drives (cloud sharing just isn’t fast enough to move dozens of gigs in a reasonable time), connect to projectors, connect to monitors - often several of these at once.
The lack of standard ports on the MacBook and Pro basically mean my next laptop won’t be a Mac, which makes me sad, since I’ve been a Mac user since the LC III. The iMac is pretty much the only viable (for me) Mac Apple offers right now.
Um...
Apple is in legal battle with Qualcomm
The modem business for Intel is absolutely dismal. R&D is high and margin is low.
Right now Apple dont have much of a choice.
Apple will only ditch Intel once they have their own modem.
I'm more
4259 / 10713 - iPhone 8 Plus (A11)
4467 / 8520 - MacBook Core i7 (7Y75)
3919 / 7493 - MacBook Air Core i7 (5650U)
Again, I don't believe an ARM MacBook or MacBook Air will appear in 2018, but if Apple were to do this, it would make the most sense if they did it with their ultrabooks.
Actually for low power stuff, ARM is very competitive. I know Geekbench is not a great cross platform test, but nonetheless it does illustrate how good ARM is these days:
4259 / 10713 - iPhone 8 Plus (A11)
4467 / 8520 - MacBook Core i7 (7Y75)
3919 / 7493 - MacBook Air Core i7 (5650U)
Again, I don't believe an ARM MacBook or MacBook Air will appear in 2018, but if Apple were to do this, it would make the most sense if they did it with their ultrabooks.