Apple will start making ARM based Mac in 2021, according to Bloomberg. The company is reportedly working on three processors for use in Mac computers as part of the project codenamed Kalamata. The chips will reportedly be based on the architecture of the upcoming A14 chip which is believed to power the upcoming iPhone 12 and some versions of the iPad.
Adding more details, Bloomberg says that the first batch of the Apple made processors for the Mac will be a 12 core CPU which breaks down into eight “high-performance” cores named Firestorm and four “energy efficient” cores named Icestorm.
Rumours pertaining to the release of ARM based chips for the Mac are not new. For a very long time now, various sources have suggested that Apple is working on bringing its own chips to the Mac to replace Intel chips. The rumours go way back to 2012 but the most concrete ones date back to 2018.
Recently, the noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities reported that Apple will start introducing ARM based chips in the Mac beginning 2020 or 2021. The new report by Bloomberg confirms the information provided by Ming-Chi Kuo. However, there could be slight changes in the timeline due to the covid-19 outbreak which has affected the whole world.
Switching from Intel chips to using its own in the Mac will give Apple more control over its products. At present, Intel is struggling to improve its chips to offer any significant performance bumps. On the other hand, Apple’s own chips based on the ARM architecture which power the iPhone and the iPad have been gaining extraordinary levels of speed improvements.
Apple’s own chips in the Mac will also help the company save around 40 to 60 percent in costs, according to The Verge. Also, ARM chips are very “power-efficient” – the upcoming A14 chip is supposed to be a 5nm chip.
