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What does yesterday’s presentation of Apple and the transition to new processors mean for the company, users and the entire market?
At the One More Thing presentation on November 10, Apple introduced its own M1 processor for macOS devices and three new MacBooks: Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, and Mac Mini. All new items are equipped with a new chip, which Apple refers to as the fastest and most energy efficient. The company also positions the new “poppies” as star products in its categories.
The secret of the new chip is in the ARM architecture used in processors for smartphones and tablets. It is much more energy efficient compared to x86, that is, the processor architecture for computers that Intel uses (the company previously released Macs on its chips).
Attempts to transfer computers to mobile computers have been made for several years. But so far, Microsoft, in partnership with Qualcomm (the developer of the most advanced ARM chips), has failed to revolutionize the market.
Will Apple get it? What does this mean for the company’s former partner, Intel? And most importantly, how will the lives of ordinary users change?
Why Apple Abandoned Intel Chips
Rumors that Apple was abandoning its partnership with Intel on laptop chips surfaced in 2017.
The problem has been brewing for a long time: Intel with x86 stuck in 2013 and was unable to switch to a new technical process that would allow laptops to be significantly thinner, faster, and more autonomous. In fact, this is one of the main reasons for the market stagnation.
At the same time, the performance of ARM solutions and the company’s ambitions grew. In 2018, ARM presented a development roadmap. She planned to catch up with Intel Core i5 chips in performance in 2019 and start battling them for the computer segment. And in 2020, to switch to a 5nm process technology (Intel stopped at 10nm).
And so it all happened. Apple considered that the ARM architecture was mature enough for use in laptops and introduced its first ARM chip for desktop devices.
The company says the new chip offers the best performance / watt ratio on the market. With the same processor load, your M1 uses four times less power than its competitors on the x86 architecture, three times less on graphics.
What will Apple get out of such a move?
In the midst of the pandemic, when users actively rushed to buy laptops, Apple, unlike other brands, was unable to significantly increase sales. In the first quarter of 2020, according to Strategy Analytics, Macbook sales fell 16%. In the eyes of users, these are expensive devices, the advancement in them is not so noticeable as to invest in an upgrade.
The transition to new chips should stimulate sales, if the inconvenience of changes is commensurate with the benefits, because the improved autonomy, quiet operation and instant response to user actions are a good reason to spend money on a new computer portable, especially since competitors won’t have this even close.
Regardless of how well you do it the first time, this is a very daring move. Apart from Apple, few could take that risk: the company has total control of both the hardware and software of its devices. In addition, the company has a great offer of customer loyalty. The proverbial “magic” of Apple will help you shape the new norm in the market if you really succeed in technology.
How will this affect users?
In the presentation it was announced that universal applications and some Adobe applications have been adapted, Photoshop will be compatible from next year. In addition, the new “Macs” will be able to run iPad applications, if their developers allow it. Applications written for the x86 architecture will run through the emulator. This means stability and performance issues. The company estimates that the transition period for adoption of the app will take approximately two years. During this time, a sufficient number of universal apps should appear.
I mean, there will definitely be app issues, and not a year. At first, buyers of super expensive laptops that should “just work” like the rest of Apple’s technology will struggle.
The second point is performance. Some analysts wonder if the new chip is really as fast as users claim in Apple advertisements. Mobile-Review founder Eldar Murtazin claims that those who managed to access new Apple devices, the company strictly prohibited from verifying their performance.
The third is a hidden price increase for Apple appliances. Market realities are such that ARM devices are cheaper than their Intel chip counterparts. The reason is the limited opportunities, compared to the entire market. But Apple does not believe that the innovation will somehow limit users and keep the price at the same level, stating in the presentation that in its price category its laptops are faster and more autonomous than Windows solutions.
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The fourth point is the growth of the autonomy standard for laptops. Apple with mobile chips, if everything works as the company promises, declares a new bar for the market.
The fifth nuance is that the ARM architecture is a single chip where the processor, memory and other components are located. In the presentation, an Apple representative mentioned that this allows the hardware to run more smoothly and quickly. But users should also know that it does not allow to update individual items of the device, for example, add RAM.
Sixth: Apple will definitely promote its solution on the market and the “poppies” on Intel chips will be withdrawn from sale. This means that if you have been thinking about buying a Macbook for a long time, but have put off this decision, you should finally do it.
Last but not least, the launch of ARM will act as a PR for similar devices for the entire market and will fuel interest in similar Windows laptops. Tablets based on mobile chips and mobile operating systems are already replacing laptops in many segments. This means that they have more than enough capabilities for user tasks. Why not do the same for ARM laptops?
How it will affect Intel
It is already clear that mobile and desktop devices will converge. Microsoft has been working on the ARM version of Windows since 2017, and since 2018 it has been releasing devices in partnership with Qualcomm. So far this is more experimental than mass leadership.
Additionally, laptop makers are partnering with Microsoft to make the transition from desktop to mobile and back as seamless as possible. Deploy operating system-level solutions that integrate work with files, applications, and user tasks.
Intel continues to have less and less space in this market. The massive transition of manufacturers from x86 to ARM will not be immediate. It will be at least a few more years before mobile processors become the norm in laptops, especially for those users who need high performance for different tasks or specific software. But the trend is obvious.
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In the dry residue
Macbook Air will start at $ 999, Mac Mini – starting at $ 699, Macbook Pro – starting at $ 1299. Apple announced that the devices are available immediately for pre-order and will go on sale in a week.
The dates for the start of sales in Ukraine and prices have not yet been officially announced. The 2020 MacBook Air in Ukraine is supposed to cost from UAH 34,999, Mac Mini – from UAH 23,999, MacBook Pro – from UAH 44,999.
Should you buy a Macbook Pro, Macbook Air, or Mac Mini with an M1 chip? It is better to wait for the first reviews of real users to understand how the image shown by Apple corresponds to reality. Today, the company is increasingly criticized for product failures and the inconsistency of promises with reality. In the case of laptops, especially the Pro version, the cost of Apple errors can be quite expensive for the user.
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