[The Exiled]

Apple plans to announce ARM transition for all Macs at WWDC 2020

At its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) later this month, Apple plans to announce the beginning of its transition from Intel-based Macs to ARM-based ones with internally designed CPUs, according to a report from Bloomberg. The report comes from Mark Gurman, who has had a generally good track record on reporting the internal workings of Apple and cites "people familiar with the plans." Testing of ARM-based Mac chips at Apple has produced "sizable improvements" compared to Intel chips in graphics and AI performance. The new chips are also more power-efficient, which Apple could use either to improve battery life or produce thinner, lighter laptops—or whatever combination of the two it deems desirable. The shift would also free Apple from the shackles of Intel's development roadmap, which has on more than one occasion stymied Apple's ability to release the products it wants to, when it wishes to. Bloomberg’s Gurman also notes that this shift is unlikely to drastically affect Intel's bottom line right away, as Macs only barely breach double-digit market share against other types of personal computers. But he speculates that the move might inspire other laptop manufacturers, who are prone to mimicking Apple in some products, to do the same—and that could make for a much bigger concern at Intel.

Izvor: ArsTechnica