It appears that Apple isn’t just interested in producing chips for its mobile devices. If a new report is to be believed, the company wants to reduce its dependence on Intel for the MacBook lineup. It suggests that the company is thinking about developing custom ARM chips for future Mac machines.
Citing multiple industry sources, Nikkei Asian Review reports that Apple is looking to develop custom ARM chips for future Mac products.
“Notebooks are becoming thinner, while consumers are demanding better mobility and longer battery life,” says an unnamed chip industry executive cited in the report, adding that this gives a good opportunity to ARM’s architecture which is known for its power efficiency. No further information is available about Apple’s possible shift to ARM other than industry chatter.
Moreover, there haven’t been any rumors suggesting that Apple is developing an ARM-compatible version of macOS. So even if the company might be thinking about such a move, it’s far from confirmed that this will happen, so take this information with a grain of salt until there’s more information.
The report also mentions that Apple has been investing in research and development for baseband model chips. This could mean that the company might eventually reduce its reliance on Qualcomm as well for future iPhones, but this may also take a few years. Nothing is set in stone, though.
