Apple in ARM has what it wanted in PowerPC

[micrometers]

ARM powers the iPhone, iPad, and apple TV.

Apple has in-house chip designers working with the instruction set IIRC. They have total control.

Intel can't compete with ARM right now. the ATOM processors have not gained traction in their intended tablet and smartphone markets.

Interesting, huh? I don't see apple moving away from intel Macs ever, and it made sense at the time for the platform since it made "switching" easier for windows users, but still, in a short while if not already Apple will be making most of its revenues from products that carry ARM processors, not intel processors.

 

[runawayprisoner]

Huh...? I still love my MacBook Pro.

And I believe that as long as there are people loving MacBook Pro, Apple won't run its Intel lineup into the ground.

 

[TheStu]

They are already making most of their revenues from ARM powered devices. Tim Cook said so in today's keynote, 70%+ (I cannot recall if it was 76 or 73 or whatever).

However, we are still a long way from ARM being in place to replace intel in something like a full featured laptop.

 

[mmntech]

The Atom has two big scores against it. Relatively high power consumption, and lack of software support. AFAIK, Intel still hasn't brought Atom quite down the the power levels of the Cortex-A9 chips. Higher power means more heat. A lot of Atom powered tablets I've seen are actively cooled, which negatively impacts battery life and greatly increases weight.

Secondly, I don't think there's really been a mainstream embedded x86 OS that can compete with iOS and Android. Putting desktop Windows on those Atom systems was always a mistake, since the OS itself requires more computer horsepower. Sure, it can run everything a Windows desktop can, in theory. Just not very well.

However, ARM has its shortfalls. The architecture is designed for mobile use. Theoretically you could produce a chip as powerful as an i7 but you'd have the same drawbacks as well. Heat, increased power consumption. ARM also still hasn't moved to 64-bit yet. There are plans but no chips in the wild. You'd literally have to build a new core design from the ground up, where as Intel and AMD already make high powered chips with an established and widely supported architecture. No R&D costs. It makes sense to use them for desktops and laptops.

 

[KeypoX]

They are already making most of their revenues from ARM powered devices. Tim Cook said so in today's keynote, 70%+ (I cannot recall if it was 76 or 73 or whatever).

However, we are still a long way from ARM being in place to replace intel in something like a full featured laptop.

And on the flip side we are not that far from ARM being replaced by intel

 

[TheStu]

And on the flip side we are not that far from ARM being replaced by intel

I saw that preview or whatever on AT front page, that is pretty impressive. Where's the ultra low power Atom already intel, come on.