I expect buyers of the first ARM-based Macs to end up like the buyers of the first Intel-based Macs who were saddled with Core Solo processors and 32-bit EFI.
That’s not going to be the case this time around.
Apple has obviously been planning this transition for several years. Apple has been designing 64-bit ARM-based SoC since at least 2013—over 7 years.
Single-threaded speed surpassed Intel years ago; it's probably been a matter of getting the supporting silicon up to snuff.
I wouldn't be surprised if what we see this fall will be the 2nd or 3rd iteration of ARM-based Macs Apple has designed internally but the first to be revealed to the public.
I expect these first Apple Silicon Macs will be ridiculously fast, particularly on a performance per watt basis and even perhaps compared to similarly priced Intel hardware from brand name PC manufacturers.
Apple knows they only have one chance to make a first impression; I expect they will put a stake in the ground around that for these first consumer oriented Macs, with the promise of what's to come for Macs for pro users over the course of the two-year transition of the entire product line.
You could have said all the same things about the Intel transition
Apple obviously wasn't designing Intel chips; they had no choice but to take whatever Intel had. Sure, they were better than the PowerPC processors from Motorola and IBM but it was Intel’s roadmap that sealed the deal.
This time, Apple doesn't have to settle for those trade-offs it had no choice but to swallow from Intel back in the day.
The two year old processor in the Apple Transition Kit already has very impressive performance; the first ARM-based Macs should even be more impressive with the latest and greatest chips: https://gizmodo.com/a-wild-apple-arm-benchmark-appears-18442....
That’s not going to be the case this time around.
Apple has obviously been planning this transition for several years. Apple has been designing 64-bit ARM-based SoC since at least 2013—over 7 years.
Single-threaded speed surpassed Intel years ago; it's probably been a matter of getting the supporting silicon up to snuff.
I wouldn't be surprised if what we see this fall will be the 2nd or 3rd iteration of ARM-based Macs Apple has designed internally but the first to be revealed to the public.
I expect these first Apple Silicon Macs will be ridiculously fast, particularly on a performance per watt basis and even perhaps compared to similarly priced Intel hardware from brand name PC manufacturers.
Apple knows they only have one chance to make a first impression; I expect they will put a stake in the ground around that for these first consumer oriented Macs, with the promise of what's to come for Macs for pro users over the course of the two-year transition of the entire product line.