ARM-based Macs Coming Soon as Apple-Intel Breakup Possible with Birth of OS/OS X Lovechild
Apple's breakup with Intel has been reported throughout the years but it has yet to happen. While there have been no concrete proofs, the recent claims of a former Apple executive revived the idea. Previous Apple executive Jean-Louis Gassée remained skeptic about ARM-based for the longest time but this time his mind seemed to have changed. Gassée says the breakup is possible soon and he's now convinced Apple may make ARM move.
Those convinced about Apple's better position with ARM suggest that Macs will be more powerful with the company's processors. According to the Apple executive, when Apple launched the A7 and its 64-bit architecture, he did not think Apple could make the ARM move over Intel. Nonetheless, Matt Richman, in his published piece "Apple and ARM, Sitting in a Tree," supposes the partnership is possible. According to Richman: "I don't know exactly when, but sooner or later, Macs will run on Apple-designed ARM chips." It may have been a long time since Richmand wrote his piece but it has become relevant now.
In Richman's point of view, Apple will benefit from ARM because of the lower cost. For example, Intel's i7 chips came with a $378 price tag for the 15-inch high end MacBook Pro. If Apple switches to ARM, the chip can cost around $300 allowing the company to lower the retail price and possibly attract more customers.
According to Cult of Mac, Gassée now supports the ARM-based computers based on the philosophy of Steve Jobs: Apple must have control on every component of its technology. According to Gassée's piece: "Apple's drive to own 'all layers of the stack' continues unabated years after Steve's passing. As a recent example, Apple created its own Swift programming language that complements its Xcode IDE and Clang/LLVM compiler infrastructure."
There are several compelling reasons why Apple's switch to ARM will be beneficial. These include: improved power dissipation, lower cost and natural machine integration. There is also the possibility that Apple can soon create a lovechild between iOS and OS X - something people have been waiting for.