Apple may in fact be en route to designing its own processors, which could replace Intel as the supplier of Mac CPUs.
The company began in 2008 when Apple bought chip manufacturer P.A. Semi. The acquisition led to the design of the A4 processor, popularized in the original iPad released in 2010.
The same year, P.A. Semi’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies Johny Srouji also joined Apple in 2008.
Over the last two years, Apple’s processors have found their way into the AirPods and some Beats products in the form of the W1 wireless chip. The W2 is in the new Apple Watch, with the S-series chip used as a System in a Package (SiP) since the creation of the device.
The iPhone and iPad continue the run of Apple-designed processors, with the 2017 iPhone 8 family and iPhone X sporting the A11 Bionic processor.
Finally, the last two Mac models have featured the T1 chip, which controls functions such as the Touch Bar and Touch ID, while the iMac Pro’s T2 chip manages nearly every aspect of the boot process, security of the microphone and camera, amongst other functions. Apple’s iMac 5K and iMac 4K refreshes at the 2017 WWDC did not include a T-series processor.
It’s been claimed that Apple is working on “at least three” updated Mac models with custom co-processors coming as soon as this year, including updated laptops and a new desktop according to “a person familiar with the plan.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via AppleInsider and Bloomberg