Apple Looking To Drop Intel On Mac For ARM Processors

[Scorbing]

I hope this isn't true because dropping Intel will be the biggest mistake they will ever make. That will be the end of the Mac as we know it.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-05/apple-said-to-be-exploring-switch-from-intel-chips-for-the-mac.html

[Boz]

If they do that they are pretty much done. One of the main reasons that allowed to me grow was switching to x86 platform and allowing people to run Windows on their Apple computers.

[The_Decryptor Veteran]

I can't image this happening for a bunch of reasons, they dropped PPC because it wasn't able to match performance with x86, so why switch to ARM that has those same issues?

ARM is great in certain situations, general purpose desktop computers isn't one of them (yet)

[moloko]

Apple engineers have grown confident that the chip designs used for its mobile devices will one day be powerful enough to run its desktops and laptops

This is many years away and could be where they are putting a lot of R&D $$. This could save them lots of money if they can get the processors up to speed. Maybe having 4-8-12 chips with 4-8-12 cores in each.

[FloatingFatMan]

I can't image this happening for a bunch of reasons, they dropped PPC because it wasn't able to match performance with x86, so why switch to ARM that has those same issues?

ARM is great in certain situations, general purpose desktop computers isn't one of them (yet)

Oh I dunno... Apple's desktops have always been massively underpowered, so really, who'd notice the difference? :p

[redvamp128]

Though I highly doubt this is true,

But let us look at the following:

Pro's=

Unified Desktop - Iphone - Ipad OS

No need to have a separate Operating system.

It is quite possible they may decide to have the desktops have dual arm chips (with multiple core's) to compensate for the desktop. (this would still make them low power use)

Con's = Ditching OSX style desktop...

People will have to rely on what applications are available in App store versus download and install from web.

So there are ups and downs... but honestly ... it would be both risk and sense to do this.... However ...

I really think this is rumor though possibly a lower smaller laptop - or even - an Arm mini- that runs the same OS that the Ipad runs.

[rfirth]

Sounds like they want their own Windows RT.

[thealexweb]

With Nvidea's Tegra doubling in performance every year in 2017 when this switchover might happen Arm will probs be ready.

[ckempo]

Con's = Ditching OSX style desktop...

People will have to rely on what applications are available in App store versus download and install from web.

...and Apple take a slice of the payment for each app sold. They don't see this as a con, even though consumers might.

[neufuse Veteran]

...and Apple take a slice of the payment for each app sold. They don't see this as a con, even though consumers might.

no, consumers dont give a crap, it's developers who look at it as apple getting huge profits over your time and effort... I don't get why I have to pay for my app to be put onto an apple device if I want to sell it... after decades of not having to do this after we went to "IBM Compatable PCs" and Mac OS now we are going right back to it just to funnel money from dev's to Apple and now Microsoft again, and Apple was the company that started the whole revolution against that at a large level... anyone remember the whole TV ad in the 1980's?....

[Noir Angel]

Doubtful. You already pay twice the price for half the computer, there's no way that even Apple could sell something when they're charging twice the price for something that's a very small fraction of a normal computer's power.

[neufuse Veteran]

Doubtful. You already pay twice the price for half the computer, there's no way that even Apple could sell something when they're charging twice the price for something that's a very small fraction of a normal computer's power.

yes they could, they could even increase the price and claim it's "higher engineering that goes into it" because they "designed the chips themselves" even though less powerful by a lot still cost more in the end to the consumer...

[Axel]

This is an interesting turnabout. ARM a fair more flexible with their licensing than Intel so I can definitely see the drive to go that route. I'm welcome to any change for the better in the long run but I can understand the aversion to another chip switch. I don't see ARM delivering anywhere near the power Intel can by 2017 though.

I'm not a mac user anyway but the switch to a more efficient platform at some point in the future is inevitable isn't it?

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Where has this rumour stemmed from?

[neufuse Veteran]

Where has this rumour stemmed from?

This rumor started when the iPhone was announced, because Apple said its an ARM version of OSX, people started seeing apple slowly move to a closed app model with the app store then now move the desktop slightly that way... people think OSX will ditch the desktop at some point and go full blown iOS model even on the desktop systems and only a desktop system on the servers and high end systems like the Mac Pro...

so basically all laptops and iMacs go iOS and the Mac Pro goes to the developers and professionals only basically with the full desktop

Apple keeps leaving hints they want this every time they have a keynotes speech and people are slowly stringing things together into one huge rumor