What is the advantage (for Apple) of the ARM CPU over the Intels? Is it power? Instructions-per-watt? Or just the ability to control one's destiny?
First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
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Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#22Does it mean that Macbooks get touchscreen?
Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#23Does it mean that Macbooks get touchscreen?
Why would it mean that?
Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#24Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#25Can anyone explain why Apple would be dropping Intel and doing ARM instead, instead of just, you know, doing their own thing? I find it hard to believe either that ARM is the (globally optimal) pinnacle of instruction set / CPU architecture possible, and that a $1tn company can afford to spin up its own CPU production line (competitor to Intel, a $250b company) but not its own CPU design department (competitor to ARM, bough by SoftBank for $30b) ?!?
Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#26What is the advantage (for Apple) of the ARM CPU over the Intels? Is it power? Instructions-per-watt? Or just the ability to control one's destiny?
Controlling one's destiny / not having to work with other companies since Apple loathes everyone else.
Wouldn't surprise me if they also want to make the laptops even thinner once again.
Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#27Often when Apple shifts the rest of the industry follows within 5 years (touch screen smart phones, ultrabooks, high DPI displays). Although Apple has done architecture shifts before with no impact to the rest of the industry (68k -> PPC -> Intel), I wonder if this will be different. I read in another thread that volume is what propelled x86s popularity. Intel’s difficulty with 10nm has created an opening for other f…
ARM laptops already exist https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/surface-pro-x-arm-app-com...
Lol, commercially successful ARM laptops is what the op meant.
Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#28Can anyone explain why Apple would be dropping Intel and doing ARM instead, instead of just, you know, doing their own thing ? I find it hard to believe either that ARM is the (globally optimal) pinnacle of instruction set / CPU architecture possible, and that a $1tn company can afford to spin up its own CPU production line (competitor to Intel, a $250b company) but not its own CPU design department (competitor to AR…
An ISA doesn't just exist in a vacuum. There is also the compiler toolchain, runtime libs, developer mindshare and years of very smart people thinking about the ISA.
A $1e12 company doesn't have to pick the "pinnacle" of ISA/CPU possible. They just have to pick one that is good enough to meet their financial goals.
Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#29Can anyone explain why Apple would be dropping Intel and doing ARM instead, instead of just, you know, doing their own thing ? I find it hard to believe either that ARM is the (globally optimal) pinnacle of instruction set / CPU architecture possible, and that a $1tn company can afford to spin up its own CPU production line (competitor to Intel, a $250b company) but not its own CPU design department (competitor to AR…
Didn’t Apple invest in ARM in 1990?
Re: First Arm Macs: 13-Inch MacBook Pro, Redesigned iMac; Late 2020 or Early 2021
#30Can anyone explain why Apple would be dropping Intel and doing ARM instead, instead of just, you know, doing their own thing ? I find it hard to believe either that ARM is the (globally optimal) pinnacle of instruction set / CPU architecture possible, and that a $1tn company can afford to spin up its own CPU production line (competitor to Intel, a $250b company) but not its own CPU design department (competitor to AR…
I think you fail to grasp the sheer amount of time to create a new instruction set, easily a decade to get to the level ARM is now. Not just the hardware, but debuggers, tooling etc etc. Can't see that paying off
Also, the kernel codebase, which is shared with iPhones, will be able to target a single architecture