[AppleInsider] Apple may abandon Intel for its Macs starting with post-Broadwell

[witeken]

It is likely that Apple will eventually be independent of Intel. Now is not that time.

Even if they for some reason do not want their architecture anymore, surely they won't give up their leading process.

 

[Techhog]

That means that Macs would be complete Mac OS exclusive. Interesting rule, but risky since a ton of older programs won't work either.

 

[TreVader]

BK is on patrol defending Intel share price. It looks like Intel is going with "deny until last minute" route. Just like how Skylake is "not delayed" and like how until the last minute Broadwell was "not delayed". Until one day it was!

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/16/intel-krzanich-arm-mac/


Get out now, Intel is done. What happens when apple abandons you as a CPU supplier? Let's ask IBM!

 

[TreVader]

This couldn't be further from the truth. People buy Apple in large part because of performance. They know that no matter what, they're not going to get a slow piece of crap. If Apple were selling poorly performing pieces of garbage, like the other PC OEMs, they'd lose their market share in record time.

Apple itself cares about performance, as well-evidenced by their Ax SoCs. They also were the first to make widespread use of PCIe SSDs, and again looking at SSDs, the fact that so many of their products ship with them is another very telling factor.
It does matter. They have the performance lead, and can afford to focus in other areas.

Seriously, how can you say it doesn't matter, when they're the industry leader in performance? Where they do not lead, e.g. with Atom, they are making significant strides to change that.
It is likely that Apple will eventually be independent of Intel. Now is not that time.

I agree with you 100% about Apple and performance. Why not at this time?


Take a look at the IPad Air 2. If you stuck a keyboard on it, It would do a decent job at being a tiny rMBA on its own.


Intel will stay around for a bit in the Mac Pro and higher end laptops but the MacBook Air has gone as far as it can go using Intel. They can't produce chips that perform well in the tablet and mobile space, and I think Apple needs a processor that is way more power efficient than Broadwell.

 

[RampantAndroid]

BK is on patrol defending Intel share price. It looks like Intel is going with "deny until last minute" route. Just like how Skylake is "not delayed" and like how until the last minute Broadwell was "not delayed". Until one day it was!

http://www.macrumors.com/2015/01/16/intel-krzanich-arm-mac/


Get out now, Intel is done. What happens when apple abandons you as a CPU supplier? Let's ask IBM!

Is this post meant to be taken seriously? Because I sure can't take is seriously. You're clearly not in touch with current times if you think Apple using ARM for their macbooks (which...well, not for the next few years they won't. Never say never) would somehow mean the downfall of Intel. Macbooks still make up a *fraction* of the consumer market, and then there is the server market that Intel also has a lot of sales in.

I agree with you 100% about Apple and performance. Why not at this time?


Take a look at the IPad Air 2. If you stuck a keyboard on it, It would do a decent job at being a tiny rMBA on its own.


Intel will stay around for a bit in the Mac Pro and higher end laptops but the MacBook Air has gone as far as it can go using Intel. They can't produce chips that perform well in the tablet and mobile space, and I think Apple needs a processor that is way more power efficient than Broadwell.

The iPad 2 BARELY runs iOS8. My mom has my old iPad 2, she's had it since iOS7 and once iOS8 came out she upgraded. I felt so bad when I was back home over thanksgiving and saw how slow it had become.

Why does Apple need a more efficient CPU? Remind me? Last I looked the shipping air has a 12 hour rated battery life to it. Efficiency should always be looked for, but I don't think the Air, leading the pack in terms of battery life, is hurting in ANY way.

 

[TreVader]

Is this post meant to be taken seriously? Because I sure can't take is seriously. You're clearly not in touch with current times if you think Apple using ARM for their macbooks (which...well, not for the next few years they won't. Never say never) would somehow mean the downfall of Intel. Macbooks still make up a *fraction* of the consumer market, and then there is the server market that Intel also has a lot of sales in.

Of course not. I just mean it's the beginning of the end. Intel will likely still be profitable for years. But they have nowhere to go! Who gives a crap about Intel if they aren't in macs?


Brand loyalty isn't bought with server margin.


Look at IBM. They still "make" chips. That's what Intel will be in 2018, the new IBM. The new irrelevant dinosaur struggling to stay afloat in a world it doesn't understand.


Edit: I said the iPad Air 2, not the iPad 2. The iPad 2 is from 2011,

 

[RampantAndroid]

Who gives a crap about Intel if they aren't in macs?

....Maybe my sarcasm meter is broken, but this is a pretty ridiculous statement to make.

You did say air 2. That CPU is still a far cry from being as powerful as the CPU in the Air; the air right now is a full laptop that can multitask. I don't think the CPU in the air 2 is capable of that.

 

[dahorns]

The new irrelevant dinosaur struggling to stay afloat in a world it doesn't understand.

Would you classify this as a mixed metaphor? I mean, there were swimming dinosaurs. And I assume if they were alive today they'd be very confused. On the other hand, the discovery of a living dinosaur would seem awfully relevant to me.

 

[TreVader]

....Maybe my sarcasm meter is broken, but this is a pretty ridiculous statement to make.

You did say air 2. That CPU is still a far cry from being as powerful as the CPU in the Air; the air right now is a full laptop that can multitask. I don't think the CPU in the air 2 is capable of that.

Do they still make Wintel laptops? I don't remember, I never see anybody use one....



Actually scratch that. I know one person with a surface Pro 3. What a weird thing that is...


If customers only experience using "intel inside" products is replacing server blades or troubleshooting the 1000x bugs on their surface pro 3 why would they care about intel?

 

[TreVader]

Would you classify this as a mixed metaphor? I mean, there were swimming dinosaurs. And I assume if they were alive today they'd be very confused. On the other hand, the discovery of a living dinosaur would seemly awfully relevant to me.

Lol you got me there. I think I took the stereotypical dinosaur metaphor and somehow made it a hybrid with the staying afloat metaphor. I should've added the rats riding coattails simile along with it.

 

[elemein]

Do they still make Wintel laptops? I don't remember, I never see anybody use one....



Actually scratch that. I know one person with a surface Pro 3. What a weird thing that is...


If customers only experience using "intel inside" products is replacing server blades or troubleshooting the 1000x bugs on their surface pro 3 why would they care about intel?

Go to a college or university. Full of Wintel. Absolutely chock full. There's a good 25% Apple laptops there and maybe 5-10% AMD, but the rest is Wintel. Yes, they still sell Wintel laptops and boy do they sell a lot.

 

[TreVader]

Go to a college or university. Full of Wintel. Absolutely chock full. There's a good 25% Apple laptops there and maybe 5-10% AMD, but the rest is Wintel. Yes, they still sell Wintel laptops and boy do they sell a lot.

Dude I went to school in 2003-2007 and even in 2007 Apple was at least 25%. By now it's gotta be 75% at any liberal California public university, which is where I went to school.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14...ents-in-laptops-phones-tablets-and-headphones

 

[dahorns]

Dude I went to school in 2003-2007 and even in 2007 Apple was at least 25%. By now it's gotta be 75% at any liberal California public university, which is where I went to school.

If only someone kept track of market share for PC manufacturers . . .

 

[elemein]

Dude I went to school in 2003-2007 and even in 2007 Apple was at least 25%. By now it's gotta be 75% at any liberal California public university, which is where I went to school.

http://appleinsider.com/articles/14...ents-in-laptops-phones-tablets-and-headphones

Well I go to college currently in Canada. Unless I'm blind (possible I suppose), it's 25%.

 

[TechFan1]

Of course not. I just mean it's the beginning of the end. Intel will likely still be profitable for years. But they have nowhere to go! Who gives a crap about Intel if they aren't in macs?


Brand loyalty isn't bought with server margin.


Look at IBM. They still "make" chips. That's what Intel will be in 2018, the new IBM. The new irrelevant dinosaur struggling to stay afloat in a world it doesn't understand.


Edit: I said the iPad Air 2, not the iPad 2. The iPad 2 is from 2011,

Brand loyalty is bought by consistently and reliably having the best product. If apple were to put out laptops that had inferior performance to their competitors their loyal customers will quickly disappear. In order to switch their laptops to an Apple SoC, it will have to provide an equal or better experience, or no one will pay their price premiums.

 

[TreVader]

Well I go to college currently in Canada. Unless I'm blind (possible I suppose), it's 25%.

I suppose we are both technically right then.






Still think I'm more right.

 

[frozentundra123456]

....Maybe my sarcasm meter is broken, but this is a pretty ridiculous statement to make.

You did say air 2. That CPU is still a far cry from being as powerful as the CPU in the Air; the air right now is a full laptop that can multitask. I don't think the CPU in the air 2 is capable of that.

Just a tip: there is an ignore button. It is very useful at times.

 

[elemein]

I suppose we are both technically right then.






Still think I'm more right.

Hrm, well, I could be blind again but I'm gonna have to disagree due to these handy dandy charts (just snagging a bunch in case one's off or you're not satisfied with 2013 results):

http://images.dailytech.com/nimage/PC_2013_Market_Share_NPD_Notebooks_Wide.png

http://cdn1.tnwcdn.com/wp-content/b...cline-eases-as-tablet-shipments-level-out.png

http://cdn.macrumors.com/article-new/2014/11/idc-worldwide-q32014.png

And I go to an artsy fartsy college, so 25% is generous because of all the multimedia software on Apple's ecosystem.

Also, keep in mind you're in California... Where is Apple's headquarters located? Maybe some state loyalty playing a tiny role? Maybe some "hey we'll give you a discount if you go to a Cali college" work going on here? Hrm? Hrm?

Just thinking aloud.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Do they still make Wintel laptops? I don't remember, I never see anybody use one....



Actually scratch that. I know one person with a surface Pro 3. What a weird thing that is...


If customers only experience using "intel inside" products is replacing server blades or troubleshooting the 1000x bugs on their surface pro 3 why would they care about intel?

As someone else said, if only there was a way to look this up. Oh, wait:

Inside of the richer areas of the US, you will see a glut of Macbooks, iPads and iPhones. Leave those rich areas and suddenly you'll see Android tablets/phones and Windows laptops/phones everywhere. Apple is successful NOT because they have a huge market share, but rather because they make the majority of their profits off of the hardware itself. Apple makes more per laptop sale than Dell, HP, Acer or anyone else does.

 

[TreVader]

Just a tip: there is an ignore button. It is very useful at times.

Yes. Why listen to opinions you disagree with?

 

[RampantAndroid]

Yes. Why listen to opinions you disagree with?

While I'm not hitting ignore (yet :sneaky you are making broad statements without doing any homework on them. It takes a few seconds of searching to find an IDC report on market share in the consumer space. Your statements are so far off reality that I wasn't sure if you actually believed that, or were just wearing the jester hat.

 

[monstercameron]

....Maybe my sarcasm meter is broken, but this is a pretty ridiculous statement to make.

You did say air 2. That CPU is still a far cry from being as powerful as the CPU in the Air; the air right now is a full laptop that can multitask. I don't think the CPU in the air 2 is capable of that.

hmmm not that far off.
ipad air 2 review vs mba 2013 i5
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-iPad-Air-2-A1567-128-GB-LTE-Tablet-Review.129396.0.html
vs.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Air-11-Mid-2013-i5-1-3-GHz-128-GB.96570.0.html
look at the power draw and heat coming off that intel chip! that alone should be why the switch may happen.

 

[AnandThenMan]

I predict this will happen, the timing seems right for Apple. They won't ditch Intel cold turkey however....

 

[TreVader]

While I'm not hitting ignore (yet :sneaky you are making broad statements without doing any homework on them. It takes a few seconds of searching to find an IDC report on market share in the consumer space. Your statements are so far off reality that I wasn't sure if you actually believed that, or were just wearing the jester hat.

Well I'm just trying to open up the discussion. Sometimes my rhetoric is a a bit blasé in its sourcing but for the most part I make sense.


Opinions are good people. Never changing them is bad.

 

[elemein]

hmmm not that far off.
ipad air 2 review vs mba 2013 i5
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-iPad-Air-2-A1567-128-GB-LTE-Tablet-Review.129396.0.html
vs.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Air-11-Mid-2013-i5-1-3-GHz-128-GB.96570.0.html
look at the power draw and heat coming off that intel chip! that alone should be why the switch may happen.

Looks great! Now I can get a device that's not only quiet and efficient, but has decent performance too! I'll go pick up one of those iPad Airs today and use it as my primary system. Just gotta load Windows on it for a few legacy programs though-- oh wait... D:

But seriously, the performance disparity is big.

There aren't many benchmarks the two devices share (because of OS again...), but in the ones they do:

A8x:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-A8X-iPad-SoC.128403.0.html
http://gyazo.com/bcf6ea68020e3b57dc753999add6f417

i5:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-i5-4250U-Notebook-Processor.93564.0.html
http://gyazo.com/43c86ed90a39d04512f33053cc53163f

Ouch.

Don't mention p/w, power and performance don't scale linearly and the two devices aren't even in the same league of performance; unless something performing almost 3x worse than something else is the same league.