Intel processors have powered Macs from last 14 years and Apple has transitioned away to power computers with silicon developed in-house that will start with three new MacBooks expected to be revealed next week. These would be the first to have an advanced version of ARM-based A14 SoC which drives iPhone 12 and iPad Air.
Apple has sent media invites for the third fall event this year, set on 10th November having the “One more thing” tagline. Its being expected that the company would reveal the products which will kickstart the transition of the entire Mac lineup to ARM platform that might take less than 2 years.
Apple is working on ARM-based Macs from the last few years and made them official this year at WWDC. The company talked about software benefits and provided few details about the performance or first devices that will have the new custom Apple silicon.
Insiders of the industry said that the company may play it safe and plan to start with MacBook Air and the resurrection of MacBook 12. A new Bloomberg report says that Apple might be ready to launch three ARM-based Macs next week that includes a 13-inch MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro and 16-inch MacBook Pro 16. The new MacBooks will have the same design like the current lineup and the internals will be different.
Enhanced battery life might be a new selling point of the new machines, though preliminary benchmarks at Apple’s ARM-based developer transition kit suggested that the performance might be on par if not better than the Intel-based models. Apple has noted that Thunderbolt support is being provided for the upcoming ARM-based Macs.
Foxconn is also assembling smaller models and is ramping up production as they are in high demand. The 16-inch MacBook Pro would be assembled by Quanta Computer and might face some delays. Apple is also working at the redesign of these machines for 2021 with a new iMac having an Apple-made GPU.
There is possibility that Apple might use the new Macs for showcasing macOS Big Sur that has focused on modernization and design parity with the rest of the Apple ecosystem.