Apple
plans to replace Intel’s own chips from 2020 onwards. So far this is not official information, it has been provided by sources who are familiar with the company's plans. Currently, the initiative is at an early stage of development, but the future of Apple laptops, phones and tablets is predetermined - the hardware platform for all types of devices will be their own. This is done in order to create a homogeneous ecosystem of devices. All of them will be compatible with each other. Applications for iOS can be run on MacOS.
The transition will be carried out in several stages, since it is not an easy process, given the scale of the company and the production volumes of its devices. For Intel, refusal to cooperate on the part of the corporation from Cupertino will result in only a fall in revenues, since the
partner now
receives about 5% of Apple's annual income. For Intel, the problems will begin if other manufacturers of computer hardware will refuse to cooperate in favor of their own chips.
After the news of future changes leaked to the network, Intel shares fell by 9.2%. This is the maximum fall in two years. Apple, in principle, may still abandon its plan, but this is unlikely. Representatives from both Intel and Apple declined to comment on the rumors.
Currently, all iPhones, iPads, Apple Watch and Apple TV are based on Apple’s native Apple processors manufactured using Arm Holdings Plc. The company itself plans all stages of development of these systems. The situation with “poppies” is different, since the corporation is largely dependent on the Intel roadmap. After giving up the processors of this company, Apple will be able to develop its own roadmap and follow it rigorously.
According to analysts, Apple is working to unify all of its platforms, both hardware and software. Perhaps this is a combination of iOS with macOS. And this makes sense, because now most manufacturers are doing the same. If any applications for a specific software platform can be run on any manufacturer hardware (for example, Apple is the same), this simplifies the task of software development and speeds up the development process of the software-hardware ecosystem. The fragmentation of the application market and the hardware is significantly reduced.
In the case of Apple, the company gets the opportunity to quickly introduce new features and updates for all its platforms. By the way, if the company really refuses Intel products, then it will become the largest PC manufacturer that uses its own processes. Companies Dell Technologies Inc., HP Inc., Lenovo Group Ltd. and Asustek Computer Inc. use Intel processors.
Despite the fact that global changes will begin in 2020, the company is going to modify the software much earlier. In particular, Apple plans to release a new software platform Marzipan later this year. It will allow you to run iOS apps on macOS.
Previously, the company released "Macs" with ARM co-processors that work with an iOS-like operating system. In particular, such coprocessors are installed in the latest models of MacBook Pro and iMac Pro. The corporation plans to add the corresponding chip to the latest version of Mac Pro, which will be released next year.
Intel is the largest processor manufacturer in the microelectronics market. For more than ten years, only Advanced Micro Devices Inc. was the only major competitor. The collaboration between Apple and Intel is not only about creating processors. For example, in some iPhone models, modems from Intel are installed, chips that allow phones to connect to a cellular network and make voice calls. Intel is able to produce processors that are more powerful and faster than chips from other manufacturers, which distinguishes the company's products from a number of similar ones.
Until 2005, the corporation from Cupertino
installed PowerPC processors, developed jointly by IBM and Motorola
, in their computers. But then it was decided to abandon them in favor of chips from Intel. Now the company is developing mobile processes that allow you to create small and light phones, tablets and some other devices.