Hackintosh users everywhere are in mourning after the news of this latest rumor broke. What’s the rumor, you may ask? Well, it seems that Apple plans to ditch Intel and start using its own chips in its Mac line of laptops beginning as early as 2020. This move would limit Intel to producing chips only for other high-end Windows laptops The project, codenamed Kalamata, is still in the early stages of development, according to sources, but is part of a wider plan by Apple to make a more seamless environment between their Macs, iPhones, and iPads.
The move would be a huge blow to Intel, who currently produces all the processors for every Mac in production today. Bloomberg, who initially broke the story, noted that only the rumor caused Intel’s share price to drop, although it did rebound in subsequent trading.
It’s important to note that this rumor hasn’t been confirmed by Apple, and even if it does prove to be true, Apple could abandon this approach at any time. Still, the sources of the rumors come from more than one person that are often well informed of Apple’s future plans.
“We think that Apple is looking at ways to further integrate their hardware and software platforms, and they’ve clearly made some moves in this space, trying to integrate iOS and macOS,” said Shannon Cross, an analyst at Cross Research. “It makes sense that they’re going in this direction. If you look at incremental R&D spend, it’s gone into ways to try to vertically integrate their components so they can add more functionality for competitive differentiation.”
Another part of this plan seems to be project Marzipan. This new software development project is being created by Apple so users can install and run iPhone and iPad apps on their macOS computers, much in the same way Google has created a platform to run Android apps on Chrome OS. This project, in conjunction with the plan to switch processors, could signal a new era for Apple as they work to create a much more cohesive environment between their different platforms.
While this move will no doubt hurt Intel, in the long run the chipmaker will survive. Thus far, it continues to have the advantage over all its competitors in both speed and efficiency. As long as they hold this edge, they will remain strong and an essential part of the PC market. In fact, the PC market still remains their strongest category with or without Apple, despite the fact that the market has shrunk in recent months.
Of course, this move could be a signal that Intel’s competitors are finally closing the processor gap, but we will have to wait and see. Apple could sacrifice a little performance for the chance of a more cohesive and seamless environment across their platforms. One thing is for sure, Hackintosh creators won’t be happy.
What do you think? Do you think this is a good move for Apple or will this fall as flat as the PowerPC chipset did so many years ago? Tell me your thoughts in the comments below.
