Apple Dumping Intel For ARM Chips In Laptops?
There's talk that Apple is eying ARM for notebooks and desktops, ditching Intel.
On Friday, reports surfaced that Apple officials have decided to dump Intel processors for ARM-based solutions in its upcoming MacBooks and MacBook Pros-- and possibly even Mac desktops. The transition, stated as a "done deal" by unnamed insiders, won't take place immediately, but is expected to happen "as soon as possible"-- probably in mid-2013.
According to sources, Apple is waiting for ARM architecture to move beyond the 32-bit architecture, possibly holding off for the company's upcoming Cortex-A15 processor design which is expected to hit the market in late 2012 or later. Nvidia's own ARM-based Project Denver processor, which integrates the CPU and GPU onto one die, is expected to launch in the same timeframe and will also use a 64-bit instruction set. There's speculation that Apple's plan and Nvidia's release is not a coincidence.
For Apple, moving to ARM chips would mean it would have a consistent processor architecture across all of its products. Currently the company is using Intel chips in its desktops and laptops, but ARM-based solutions in the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad tablets. The move could also signify a possible attempt to follow Microsoft's footsteps and develop one operating system that can be used across different form factors-- to offer the same OS on the iPad, iPhone, MacBook and Mac desktop.
Then again, so far ARM chips have yet to prove themselves in the PC market, remaining the dominant solution only in the mobile sector. Yet research firm IDC recently stated that it expects ARM to own 13-percent of the PC processor market by 2015. That market shift is expected to be steered by Microsoft's modular Windows 8 which could be released as early as next year.
Speculation of Apple's move to ARM arrives just days after Intel revealed its Tri-Gate transistor design which will begin to appear in 22-nm "Ivy Bridge" chips later on this year, or in Q1 2012. The new 3D transistor structure will enable Intel to increase performance while decreasing the overall chip size, power consumption and leakage. These chips are expected to put Intel in a better position to aggressively compete with ARM in the mobile sector while retaining the x86 architecture.
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AMD is dead. But Intel's x86 vs ARM based CPUs will certainly be something to drive the research up and prices down.
I love saying I told you so!
Anything is possible these days, and as it appears competition is just intensifying. I hope the biggest winner will be us the consumers.
Well, I always used to chant, strongARM! and it looks like it is finally happening!
I think Apple switching to ARM processors is a clear sign that Apple no longer wishes to hide the fact their systems lack computational power.
yeah, good luck with that
earlier this week the news was that Intel was going to produce the chips for the Ipad.
AMD is dead. But Intel's x86 vs ARM based CPUs will certainly be something to drive the research up and prices down.
what? haha. how many years have people been saying AMD is dead? they've been recording decent profits lately, I'm sure they'd appreciate you informing them there's no reason to come in to work any longer.
I think Apple switching to ARM processors is a clear sign that Apple no longer wishes to hide the fact their systems lack computational power.
^^ this. I think apple wants to make a seamless transition between phone>tablet>notebook>desktop, and they don't mind losing programs and computational power to do so. Hell... they ran on RISC architecture w/o x86 before, why not now?
Wow. Who really cares. This is all speculation. All you're doing is giving some ignorant Apple fanboy a boner. Cause everybody knows x86 and x86_64> ARM. No matter which way you cut it. ARM can survive in two places- the mobile device sector, and the server sector, where low power consumption is necessary. I can't see ARM being big in the consumer PC market- there's not enough beef. And programs would have to be recompiled to run on the different architecture, giving devs everywhere a nice headache. Not really feasible.
Amd can't be dead as there jumping in to bed with arm to
we will see though ....
did you just copy this story from semiacurate?
Macbook air probably, mac mini, macbook and 13" mbp maybe. 15" and 17" mbp and mac pro nah too soon maybe 4-6 years from now. With the intel tri-gate transistors i doubt it will happen anytime soon. Clearly just a PR move to counter the intel tri-gate announcement.
In order to survive, I think AMD should support both platform.
Arm will do well in the consumer market if Apple says they will, because people who buy Apple hardware aren't concerned with the tech specs of their machine; they simply want something that works. As an "Apple Zen" fanboy myself (I mean to say I'm a fan of Apple's "vision", innovation, etc., but not of actually spending my own money on their desktop hardware), I can say that most of the people who buy their computers aren't buying them for computation heavy tasks; they're buying them for FaceTime, iLife, Garageband [it's been years and I still haven't found a decent replacement for Garageband since I switched to Windows], AngryBirds, and those sorts of things. The group of Mac users that are interested in powerful computing are going to buy a Mac Pro, and this article is only talking about laptops for the moment.
Arm will do well in the consumer market if Apple says they will, because people who buy Apple hardware aren't concerned with the tech specs of their machine; they simply want something that works. As an "Apple Zen" fanboy myself (I mean to say I'm a fan of Apple's "vision", innovation, etc., but not of actually spending my own money on their desktop hardware), I can say that most of the people who buy their computers aren't buying them for computation heavy tasks; they're buying them for FaceTime, iLife, Garageband [it's been years and I still haven't found a decent replacement for Garageband since I switched to Windows], AngryBirds, and those sorts of things. The group of Mac users that are interested in powerful computing are going to buy a Mac Pro, and this article is only talking about laptops for the moment.
Hate to say it, but Id agree. Apple, whom i dont really like, is all about "elegance, design, power efficiency, style......". Nobody in their right mind buys a Mac for heavy computational tasks, unless they are into the arts (rendering, CS5, so on), where Mac features do help. If Apple made all their mobile devices ARM based by say, 2013, think of how much easier coding things would be for them. If they made everything ARM by 2015, where it will likely start to catch up to x86 in performance,it would be a brilliant move. Not only are ARM systems incredibly cheap, they are (supposedly) easier to code for, and much more power efficient. This is incredibly important for laptops. What would you rather have, an Apple Laptop that can run for 2 days straight, but not score quite as high in Cine, Sys, and so on, or an x86 that last for 7 hours and can max out those synthetics? For the average person who uses a word processor, the internet, and a few apps here and there, the choice would be clear. Not only that but this can help Apple make more money for their greedy selves, ARM systems cost less, so im sure Apple will charge the difference for "saving the enviroment with ARM efficiency".
Stupid Apple, your suppose to switch to the AMD Fusion chips in your laptops so my AMD stock skyrockets! *grumble*
If it is true, I am rather surprised. One of their biggest selling points lately has been the ability to run Windows natively. But, having said that, Microsoft did announce ARM support on Windows 8, so maybe Apple took that into consideration.
Still, I'm surprised. I could easily see Apple switching to AMD's new Fusion chips, especially since their computers already run AMD GPUs. But didn't see the ARM thing coming.
Cause everybody knows x86 and x86_64> ARM. No matter which way you cut it. ARM can survive in two places- the mobile device sector, and the server sector, where low power consumption is necessary. I can't see ARM being big in the consumer PC market- there's not enough beef. And programs would have to be recompiled to run on the different architecture, giving devs everywhere a nice headache. Not really feasible.
As it stands right now, I would agree with you. But the borders between desktop, mobile, and gaming electronics is QUICKLY closing.
Eventually I think the market will be at a place where we'll see the decline of the x86 platform as RISC-based processors slowly take over. All of the current generation gaming consoles run Power-based RISC processors, and nearly every mobile electronic device runs a RISC-based processor. So really, the only market that is left is the desktop market. A couple more years of the development in the ARM platform and I think it is perfectly reasonable that we start seeing ARM chips in desktop PCs.
So no, not like it will happen tomorrow, but I can easily see it happening in the future.
ARM is the future. As cellphones get more and more powerful, PCs will begin to have more and more cellphone-like technologies incorporated until one day they will be the same device.
Apple will do it because Apple realizes that its teenage base who have grown up using IPODS and IPADS and IPHONES don't understand any other OS. They feel comfortable with the IPOD OS and that is what they want to use across the board. It does not make any sense having two systems.
Maybe you'all should see what the anaylist said:
In a bit of way-out speculation, analyst Gus Richard of Piper Jaffray this week said he thought that Intel was seeking to make ARM chips for Apple.
“Based on a number of inputs, we believe Intel is also vying for Apple’s foundry business,” he said in a note to investors, which was quoted in EE Times and elsewhere.
Those who think AMD is dead, must turn back time and remember INTEL during the end of the single core race. I do remember a certain AMD stomping them into the ground...
but hey fan boys be haters as usual
Why in the world would Apple dump Intel for ARM? Does ARM even make a 64 bit processor? Current Intel chips blow ARM out of the water! I don't get it!
It would be silly for Apple to go with ARM. Intel processors are just as energy efficient as ARM and have much better performance. There's absolutely no reason for an ARM processor to be on a Mac or Windows computer. Heck, even PowerPC processors would be a better choice than ARM on a Mac.
wasn't the old A4 motorola, IBM chip RISC. Intel really made sure which was a faster processor.
Jobs: Hey all you guys who think we make crap computers, were dumping intel chips in favor of the cellphone processor makers ARM. Now our macbook pros will be as powerful as the ipad and ipods. How you like the Apples...
PC Dudes:*WAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA*
I can imagine ARM copying the 'extruded' processor design from Intel in the future to further improve their performance and power efficiency in their design (I don't prefer to use the term '3D' for transistors, because obviously every transistor is manufactured at 3 dimensions, but since the chip does not conduct electricity to transistors layered above (on a vertical plane) I merely prefer to call this an 'extruded' instead of '3D' design).
ARM has always been a better solution for mobile devices, especially now that they've been improving chip performance a lot.
And since Windows did not work on ARM, and apple is in control of their own OS, I can imagine it's not going to be hard for them to do the switch, while giving the same user experience as with intel chips.
An ARM macbook, probably has ~50% more battery life, and would be good enough performance wise for the entry models. Apple and Mac computers never really offered the top of the line computers anyways. They would do good by creating a netbook version first!
AMD is dead. But Intel's x86 vs ARM based CPUs will certainly be something to drive the research up and prices down.
Dude... AMD doubled my money on shares, they aren't dead, they are posting profits for your information
this is false. Apple and intel have put too much into thunderbolt for them to part ways anywhere in the near or not so near future.
It would be silly for Apple to go with ARM. Intel processors are just as energy efficient as ARM and have much better performance. There's absolutely no reason for an ARM processor to be on a Mac or Windows computer. Heck, even PowerPC processors would be a better choice than ARM on a Mac.
"Intel processors are just as energy efficient as ARM".... yeah... right. Is that why ARM dominates the embedded systems market?
The domination of x86 was established a quarter of a century ago when processors ran at less than 10MHz and the number of transistors in a processor was a mere fraction of what it is today. Hardware and software have evolved immensely since then.
The only reason x86 stayed dominant for so long is the 95% market share of Windows. Even Intel themselves tried to replace x86 with Itanium but failed.
Higher competition will yield up better and more powerful processors, and maybe new revolutionary technologies that weren’t intended to be used until year or even decades in to the future will be used. One example is Intel’s most recent announcement of its 22nm 3D tri gate transistors that will be used in Ivy Bridge and beyond.
while it is all speculation, I hope it's true. More competition for Intel is great news for the consumer, and it may be an indication of how computing will be changing in the near future. Cloud-based services, for example, may quickly become the prominent alternative to traditional workstation computing.
Sounds exciting to me either way, as it offers a possible explanation of how Intel could trip up again (pentium 4 anyone?) Just because Intel is big, doesn't mean it can't fall down hard. To me it seems Atom processors have a very long way to go before than can be competitive with ARM chips in the ultra mobile market.
ARM is a good low power with less powerful performance processor while Intel x86/x86_64 is good for powerful performance with average power usage. That's why ARM could dominate the mobile market while Intel could dominate the desktop market.
Each of the architecture has pros and cons. Getting x86 into low power is hard. And getting ARM into high performance zone is not easy. If ARM based processor could ever be as fast as than Intel processor, then it would use more power than Intel processor. Plenty RISC based processors out there have lost the battle to Intel x86/x86_64 in this game.
While the rumor could sound reasonable in some aspects, I don't think ARM based processor could be ready to get into Macbook Pro in the next 10 years.