Apple’s choice to drop Intel CPU for its ARM chips should only mean one thing to anyone who doesn’t want to be left out: Don’t buy a MacBook yet.
A Processor shift
If you decide to buy an Intel MacBook today, you will be buying into a line of Macs that Apple has considered to be past, one they will continue to sustain for a while. Apple has announced that it will begin a transition to exchange Intel processors in MacBook laptops with the processors of its design.
This transition is even bigger than the shift Apple made from PowerPC to Intel at the worldwide developers’ conference (WWDC) in 2005. The Intel chips inside Macs use a processor that is not based on ARM technology and they are the only ones. However, they are also the only processors not designed by Apple.
Although this move, however daunting, may not be a huge deal on Intel seeing as Apple only represents about five percent of Intel’s revenue. This means, however, that Apple is the first major computer to abandon Intel; it could be the reason brands like HP, Dell, and Lenovo start taking ARM chips more seriously.
Integration
The transition will allow tighter integration between the software and the hardware of the iPhones, iPads, and Mac, and that will pave way for cross-platform apps, and allow improvements like battery life and better security to happen. And it also means that the apps created will be exclusive to the Mac App Store and Apple have the right to lock down Mac apps as it has done with the iOS apps.
This is a huge change, however, because the Intel chips use the x86 instruction set, whereas the Apple chips use the ARM instruction set. And because the Intel and Apple chips primarily run on incompatible code, most applications will need to be recreated. Although Apple is making effort to ease the transition, every new MacBook update will be first and foremost for the new processors.
These are reasons you should not consider buying an Intel MacBook this year:
In two years, every MacBook will be powered by an Apple chip.
The first Macs with Apple processors will be coming in by the end of the year.
There is no saying what the switch will be like or when it will happen.
Usually, when you buy a new computer, you are certain that before long, a faster, much-looking one will be released. However, there is a greater than usual probability that these Apple-based Macs will be better. And every Mac currently being sold will be soon considered “old” and will be replaced with the new Macs soon. Of you already have one you can trade in laptop for cash with us and buy a new one.
There is no idea of what the new Mac will look like, if the Apple chip will be faster, maybe it will be a whole new design or have better battery life. Or maybe it will come with an improved display technology or a good built-in webcam. But the one certain thing is that with a Mac that comes with its processor, it will be vastly superior.
Apple’s promise to support old Macs
Apple has established that it will continue to support Mac with old versions for a long time, but there is no doubt that the new Macs would be getting special treatment. And you do not have to wait for Apple to release the right Mac with an Apple processor for you, you can go ahead and get an iMac if the first of these Macs is thin and light and you desire a heavy-duty laptop. If you are desperate for a new Mac PC, you should buy a cheap one that will keep you going until the new models come in.
Computers get better all the time and there is always an upgrade sooner or later, and knowing the future of mac generally, we can only wait to see what the first Apple-processor Mac will look like. However, if you have to choose between an Intel and the new models, the latter is the more exciting option.
You may want to argue that an Intel-based Mac will still function well after the transition, but without constant UEFI and OS security updates, that Intel-based Mac will be crawling with targeted malware attacks. If you pay attention to apple’s history, you will remember that Apple turned its 2012-era Mac Pro into an old-fashioned status and its current Mac OS no longer supports it. Apple has a history of continually kicking older models to the curb while making way for the new ones.
