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Apple Inc. is planning to use its own chips in Mac computers beginning as early as 2020, replacing processors from Intel Corp., according to people familiar with the plans.
The initiative, code named Kalamata, is still in the early developmental stages, but comes as part of a larger strategy to make all of Apple's devices -- including Macs, iPhones, and iPads -- work more similarly and seamlessly together, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The project, which executives have approved, will likely result in a multi-step transition.
The shift would be a blow to Intel, whose partnership helped revive Apple's Mac success and linked the chipmaker to one of the leading brands in electronics. Apple provides Intel with about 5 percent of its annual revenue, according to Bloomberg supply chain analysis.
Intel shares dropped as much as 9.2 percent, the biggest intraday drop in more than two years, on the news. They were down 6.4 percent at $48.75 at 3:30 p.m. in New York.
No interest in Apple hardware but it would be interesting to see how they implement a hybrid Desktop/Tablet OS DE. I'm sure Ubuntu and Gnome will follow.
(Score: 2) by TheRaven on Tuesday April 03 2018, @11:12AM (6 children)
sudo mod me up
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 03 2018, @11:18AM (1 child)
Patent encumbered, "GPU" is thy name.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Tuesday April 03 2018, @11:41AM
They are already doing it after they cut ties with Imagination [soylentnews.org]:
The new iPhone 8 has a custom GPU designed by Apple with its new A11 Bionic chip [techcrunch.com]
One Apple GPU, one giant leap in graphics for iPhone 8 [appleinsider.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by theluggage on Tuesday April 03 2018, @12:00PM (3 children)
Apple would be bonkers if they weren't at least doing feasibility studies of moving to home-brew ARM chips, and I would be very surprised if they don't have an ARM system running Mac OS in a firmly locked room somewhere. Now, whether those plans will turn into actual products - by 2020 or any other date - is another matter. If nothing else, it gives them a bargaining chip (ha!) in their dealings with Intel.
Microsoft already has Windows running on ARM (including x86 emulation) albeit with a long list of caveats which will probably diminish over the next few years.
Apple have already successfully switched architectures twice (68k -> PPC -> x86, not counting x86->AMD64) and operating systems once ("Classic" Mac OS -> OS X a.k.a. NextStep/Unix) and smoothed the transition with emulation/translation - and that was back in the good old days when lovingly handcrafted assembler was far more common, and OSs didn't have so many hardware abstraction frameworks. A lot of modern software will probably just recompile for ARM with only minimal tweaking and testing. I suspect it would be very little trouble for the typical 12" MacBook or MacBook Air user, and Apple's commitment to "pros" running behemoths like Adobe CC etc. is patchy anyway.
There comes a point where any extra raw grunt that Intel chips might offer over ARM (which is continually evolving anyway) becomes less important than ARM's "pick'n'mix' licensing model that allows big players like Apple to assemble systems-on-chip specifically tailored to their product. Apple has already been caught a couple of times still waiting for the Generation N model with the right combination of CPU, TDP and iGPU for the Mac to ship while Intel has been starting the Generation N+1 marketing hoopla (and other builders have been slapping the first available Gen N+1 chip in their system regardless of whether it makes sense).
One possible outcome of what both Apple and MS are doing with ARM is that Intel might shift towards a more ARM-like licensing model.
Still - I have a certain nostalgia for the good old days when ARM stood for "Acorn RISC Machine" and an ARM 2/3 wasn't just a mobile device, but a super chip that could kick sand in the face of a 286... (the ability to run off 12 pence and a lemon was just a bonus). Sadly, then, it couldn't run MSDOS...
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Freeman on Tuesday April 03 2018, @04:03PM
Someone's been busy poking at the raspberry pi and trying to get Windows 10 Desktop working. https://twitter.com/NTAuthority [twitter.com]
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday April 03 2018, @09:03PM
Back in the day Apple's Advanced Technology Group was renowned for demonstrating to developers really really cool technologies that were never sold to the public.
I don't actually know but speculate that The Second Coming Of Steve Jobs put ATG up against the wall then opened fire on it.
One of my coworkers had this really cool-looking device in his office that kinda sorta looked like a FAX machine. "It's a Macintosh" he told me.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday April 03 2018, @09:05PM
System 6.5 to System 7 was a huge change. For example it introduced backing store - which most people call virtual memory - and lots of other hip trendy buzzwords.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]