Apple likely to announce shift to its own ARM-based Mac chip at WWDC 2020: Report

Apple is gearing up for its first-ever online-only Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) on June 22. The Cupertino-based tech giant typically gives the first look of all its next-generation software like the iOS, macOS, etc. AT WWDC 2020, Apple might drop a surprise by making the announcement of shifting to its own ARM-based chips for the Mac.

Apple has been relying on Intel for its processors across the Mac lineup for quite some time. It first switched from Motorola to PowerPC chips in the 1990s and then launched its first Intel-powered Mac in 2006.

The company will make an announcement about the shift from Intel to its custom ARM chip on June 22 at the WWDC, reported Bloomberg.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

The move could be for two reasons. First being Intel’s annual chip performance gains which have slowed down, further leading to delay of some future Macs.

Secondly, the adoption of new chips would reduce processor costs by 40 to 60 percent.  The report further states that the timing of the announcement could change as the hardware transition is still months away, coupled with the ongoing pandemic.

While rumours of Apple switching to using its own ARM-based chips in Macs have been floating for quite some time, the report claims that Apple will launch the first ARM-based Mac in 2021.

As many as three ARM-based Mac processors are currently in development, based on the same technology used in designing iPhone and iPad chips. In addition to the main CPU, there will be a graphics processing unit and a Neural Engine for handling machine learning, a popular and powerful type of AI. In the past, Apple has made chips for specific Mac functions, such as security.

Internal tests so far have shown sizeable improvements over Intel chips. Apple’s processors are also more power-efficient than Intel’s, which may mean thinner and lighter Mac laptops in the future.

Apple will also use technology licensed from Arm Ltd., part of Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp. Since the underlying architecture is different from that of the intel chips, developers may need time to optimise their software for the new components.

Apple’s latest 13-inch MacBook Pro comes with Intel’s 10th generation processor. The company will launch multiple MacBooks next year. However, the exact timeline remains unknown.