Bloomberg: Apple Said to Be Exploring Switch From Intel Chips for the Mac

[Bret Williams]

It’s kinda screwy how a company solely dedicated to making computer processors for it’s entire existence isn’t the number one seller of mobile processors. It makes you wonder just what is going on.

I’ve said before I kinda wonder the same thing about Adobe. They’ve been making video editing software as long or longer than pretty much anyone, and their other apps are across the board the standard in their retrospective fields, yet they’re continually chasing the market. I feel like after X came out, they thought they were sitting pretty, but then all of the sudden Apple is jumping ahead with the multicam editor, and they were already better at the whole logging thing right out of the gate. Skimming was cool enough that Adobe added some form of it, a form that only skims on the computer monitor, but is still a little less smooth.

I guess my point is, how is Intel not hands down owning this market? And I pose the same question to Adobe (or Avid). Apple is making computers, software, iPads, phones, etc. Their resources are certainly stretched to the hilt. How is it that they can even compete in the video editing world at all? Especially with how long FCP legacy languished while Adobe and Avid kept innovating. And especially after the colossal FCP X launch screwup. I know they have lots of cash to throw around, but I get the feeling they don’t.

[Christian Schumacher]

Don’t get me wrong, but if it is on Bloomberg’s it’s no rumor, this is a controlled leak to lay out their proposed roadmap regarding their future strategies. Specially now that there’s a lot of doubt in how Apple will keep growing and re-inventing themselves, it helps to prop up stocks at least…In 3-4 years there will be no desktop made by Apple any longer, just portable devices and accessories to set them in a desktop fashion, that’s it.

[Michael Gissing]

This story is turning up in Australian tech media. It makes perfect sense to me that a company with plenty of cash, run by control freaks and with patents for everything would move to their own chips. In the recent patent wars with Samsung, it seemed strange to sue a company that was a major parts supplier.

Apple will want to control more of its parts supply in the future so it can prevent competition.

[Steve Connor]

[Michael Gissing] “Apple will want to control more of its parts supply in the future so it can prevent competition.
“

How does that prevent competition?

Steve Connor
‘It’s just my opinion, with an occasional fact thrown in for good measure”

[Michael Gissing]

The competition makes parts for you. Suing them might make them reluctant to supply or give priority.

Control parts supply yourself and be aggressive with patents and you have more leverage over your competition. Simply put, it removes a potential vulnerability to aggressively sue.

[Michael Gissing]

Playing devils advocate, I found this article that argues why Apple will likely not use ARM chips in the next five years

https://www.cultofmac.com/144942/why-youll-probably-never-own-a-mac-with-an-arm-processor-feature/

[Scott Thomas]

What is ARM and where did it come from?

ARM stands for Acorn RISC Machine. It was conceived and built as a desktop computer processor. It’s history goes back to the 1980’s. That means that the architecture is only about 10 years younger than Intel’s.

AMD has just announced that they are going to work on a 64 bit ARM processor.

Intel has had an amazing run with the x86, and I’m sure they’re not standing still. There have been more elegant CPU architectures that have come and gone, and Intel has always been able to refine their processes and microcode to do an end-run around them. Will ARM best them where IBM could not? (With the PowerRISC derived G5)

So, if Apple does move to ARM for desktop CPUs, I will not be shocked. Apple has done this kind of switch more times than anyone else, and have an advantage in that area (over other platforms). I would hope it’s a decision not taken lightly.

Wikipedia entry on ARM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARM_architecture

[Marcus Moore]

That’s ridiculous. Bloomberg is not an untarnished bastion of journalistic integrity, and there’s no evidence that they’re on the shortlist of “PR channels” (Pogue, Mossberg, Gruber, Dalrymple) that Apple uses to get a news message out.

And as to your assertion that Apple will only be making mobile computing devices in a few years is even more crazy. Do you think video/audio pros are the only ones who need powerful desktop machines? What other task uses multi-core processing to burn thru intense calculations? Hmmm… how about, I dunno, iOS development! Xcode development can be very CPU intensive. Are you suggesting that Apple is going to abandon the people developing the applications for it’s oh so important iOS platform? Let them develop on Windows perhaps?

Of course not.

[Christian Schumacher]

[Marcus Moore] “And as to your assertion that Apple will only be making mobile computing devices in a few years is even more crazy”

Bloomberg might not represent the finest of journalism but I guess it’s a pretty big channel for APPL to talk to. Just saying. Apple’s stock is big, big news. My clue is that smaller Apple’s devices will share a lot more with its “computer” counterparts – which will be, of course, only notebooks. Yet, powerful enough to run plenty of things Apple will need – and that is it – “control” is the keyword – and so is “small footprint”. X-Serves, Mac Pros, FCP Servers? That’s the kind of things you think they’re planning to make? I’m not sure, but could be wrong though. I see them boosting their touch device business, integrating them tightly with their notebook business and selling tons of accessories while at it. Call me ridiculous then…Sadly, I don’t think this desktop line will last much longer than a few years. Let’s see how this Mac Pro thing pans out. Ridiculousness comes to mind?

[Marcus Moore]

I don’t think ANY aspect of the computer business is going to exist in it’s current state for another 10 years. Things are moving much too rapidly.

But until Apple can find an alternate answer to the key benefits of the MacPro: a machine that can use server-class chips for intensive operations, AND multi-lane PCI expandability… I think they’re going to need to keep making a machine in this class.

I’m intensely curious to see what they’ll come up with for the 2013 MacPro replacement. And I don’t have a damn clue what is could be- we might be thinking about it all to much and they’ll maintain the MacPro’s tried and true form factor, but bring it up to spec with the latest Intel Xeon CPUs and I/O. OR maybe it will be something completely different.

But for me the bottom line on this is if everyone thinks the iOS side of the business is SO important to Apple (which it is), then the Mac side of the business is just as important to develop the software for it. If Apple wants the control you say they do, then they need to provide the tools their developers require. And there’s still way to much of a spread between the performance of mobile, desktop, and server class CPUs to think that Apple will hobble those developers.

Apologies if my initial response came off as a bit harsh.