Intel to Apple Silicon Transition for Mac Was Announced Five Years Ago

[MacRumors]

Apple silicon was announced five years ago this week, kickstarting one of the most successful periods for the Mac ever.

Following years of rumors, Apple in June 2020 unveiled its plan to transition the entire Mac lineup from Intel processors to its own custom-designed chips.

Later that year saw the release of the first three Mac models powered by Apple silicon, including a 13-inch MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini.

Apple had plenty of experience after a decade of making custom iPhone and iPad chips, and it was time for the Mac to switch from x86 to Arm architecture.

The company promised, and delivered, industry-leading performance per watt for Macs. This feat allowed it to remove the fan inside the MacBook Air, given the improved power efficiency resulted in less heat being generated in the ultra-thin laptop.

"With its powerful features and industry-leading performance, Apple silicon will make the Mac stronger and more capable than ever," said Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a press release announcing the transition to Apple silicon.

"I've never been more excited about the future of the Mac," added Cook.

He had good reason to be excited.

Over the past five years, many Apple fans would agree that the Mac has gone through a renaissance. Apple silicon delivered powerful performance and power efficiency at a fraction of the price of the highest-end Intel-based Macs. Apple also went a step further by bringing back ports like HDMI and MagSafe. In many ways, the Mac has never been in a better place, especially compared to the mid-2010s era when MacBooks were equipped with faulty butterfly keyboards, and often ran loud and hot to the touch.

Apple recently announced that macOS Tahoe will be the final macOS release that is compatible with Intel-based Macs.

"From the beginning, the Mac has always embraced big changes to stay at the forefront of personal computing," said Cook.

A big change was an understatement. Apple silicon completely changed the game for the Mac when it was first announced five years ago.

Article Link: Intel to Apple Silicon Transition for Mac Was Announced Five Years Ago

 

[jz0309]

what wonderful move it was indeed! Well done Apple!!!

 

[samelot628]

I remember exactly where I was... in a parking lot outside a doctor's office so I didn't have to wear a mask while I waited... listening to the announcement.

 

[TVreporter]

Reading this on my 2019 iMac and shedding a tear…why didn't I wait a bit longer!!

 

[AusMness]

I’ll never forget my upgrade from a 2020 i5 MacBook Pro to an M3 MacBook Air… three times the performance with three times the battery, among a whole other boatload of improvements ❤️‍🔥

 

[rp2011]

The best thing to happen to the Mac.
Buying my first Mac (and an Apple silicon Mac to boot) was a no-brainer as I already owned the 2018 iPad Pro which was way faster than my Intel Windows desktop machine for most things.

 

[newyorksole]

I remember being hyped. it was about 8 months after I left my job at an Apple Store. still hadn’t found a new job at that point due to the pandemic.

fast forward and now I have an M4 MBP 16” and kicked my Intel 2019 27” to the curb.

 

[apparatchik]

This December I bought my first Apple silicon Mac, a Mac Mini M4 Pro replacing my previous Intel 2018 MBA, I couldn’t be happier, it’s a great system and a great value as well.

I even use it for gaming which seems to be a forbidden thing here in the comment section lol.

 

[platinumaqua]

ARM is nice, but Apple threw away their advantage of legally being able run Mac and Windows on one computer when they ditched x86.

They could also switched to AMD which has better performance per watt than the Intel CPUs they were using, and not have to do a huge transition.

 

[Naraxus]

I can't say enough good things about these Apple Silicon chips. They're faster than Intel, allow for a much better work flow and I don't need a bottle of Coppertone every time I use my laptop. This may be the greatest legacy of Tim Cook''s Era at the helm of Apple.

 

[TJFDenver]

I remember exactly where I was... in a parking lot outside a doctor's office so I didn't have to wear a mask while I waited... listening to the announcement.

What was the prognosis?

 

[al256]

I’m still waiting for Comcast Business and Yealink to update their apps

 

[B4U]

Reading this on my 2019 iMac and shedding a tear…why didn't I wait a bit longer!!

Because after all these years, Apple has yet to have an iMac larger than 24". 🥲
I am with you on the same boat, mate.

 

[kinless]

The missteps of Apple's mid-2010 machines is likely why I held onto a 2010 Mac Pro and 2012 MacBook Pro long after their time was up. I just couldn't get behind the later Intel machines. Now that the M series is for real, I'm enjoying and being super productive with the M4 Max.

 

[dorsal]

I still consider the new Mac Mini "Built to fail". The OS should be smart enough to "protect" the CPU from overheating, regardless of what I throw at it. More than 1 minute of rendering and it can boil water with the fan at Auto. It still is over 200 degrees with fans at 100%.

 

[vegetassj4]

I miss not having to use my furnace in my home during the winter months. Apple made my heating bill skyrocket!

 

[dorsal]

I miss not having to use my furnace in my home during the winter months. Apple made my heating bill skyrocket!

I miss my Cheese Grater. How many fans did it have? Six?

 

[MacRumorUser78]

Silicon is great improvement.

Now get the software to the same level of performance. And I mean bugs.

 

[Black_Mage]

I honestly thought Apple was nuts when they announced this. I had my doubts about SoCs powering iPhones being able to replace the almighty Intel. Apple Silicon has been amazing. I hope Apple stays with ARM because I'm sure it's been hell for developers trying to keep up with all the changes. PowerPC -> Intel. 32-Bit -> 64 Bit. Intel -> Apple Silicon. I say this because I'm sure RISC-V is tempting, but Apple has a good thing going with ARM.

 

[vegetassj4]

the almighty Intel

Apple must have seen it coming:

 

[Eriamjh1138@DAN]

(Looks at G5 quad tower running Leopard…)

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I recall when it was announced. I was interested, but not overjoyed, at the thought of losing my dual-boot setup. Finally upgraded about six month after the M1 Air's launch from a 2012 MBP.

It was definitely faster, but I still lament the inability dual-boot x86 Windows. I sure do like how quiet they are, however, and the battery life!

 

[Abazigal]

Bought the M1 MBA (base model) in 2020, and it’s still going strong today. What a beast!

Though that M4 MBA is still calling out to me…😵

 

[danny842003]

I’m not a power Mac user but I recently switched from a 2017 mini to an M4 and it’s night and day.
For my uses I can’t see that I will need an upgrade for a decade.

 

[bradman83]

My M1 Pro 14" MacBook Pro is one of the best laptops I've ever owned (and this is my seventh Apple laptop spanning 25 years). Hopefully 2026 will bring a chassis redesign and the tiled M6 chip and that will prove a good time to upgrade.