Apple’s first Mac computers built with ARM-based processors will likely be unveiled next week.
The company today announced a “One More Thing” event for Tuesday, Nov. 10. Although no other details were provided, we expect the event to be about Apple’s first ARM-powered Mac, which is scheduled to arrive by the end of this year.
The upcoming product will represent a seismic shift in Apple’s Mac line. For years, the company has relied on x86 processors from Intel to build its computers. But now Cupertino plans on phasing the silicon out in favor of ARM-based chips, which currently power the iPhone and iPad.
According to Apple, the shift to ARM will pave the way for faster MacBooks, which will also consume less energy, enabling for far longer battery life. Indeed, Apple’s iPhone and iPad chips can already rival Intel’s processors in certain scenarios, as our benchmark tests show.
But on the flip side, the ARM-based chips probably won’t be able to run existing macOS apps, without emulation. So in response, Apple is encouraging software developers to port their apps to run over the ARM-based silicon. (Microsoft is facing the same dilemma with its own ARM-based Windows 10 PCs.)
Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has predicted the first ARM-based Mac will arrive as a 13-inch MacBook Pro model before Apple brings the chips to a cheaper MacBook Air in 2021.
The Nov. 10 event will be held at 10 a.m. PST and streamed on Apple.com. Stay tuned for our coverage. Apple expects the transition to ARM will take two years. In the meantime, the company still has some Intel-powered Macs in the product pipeline.
