Known for their balance of energy efficiency and processing power, Arm chips are best known for their role in the smartphone revolution, though they can more recently be found in everything from drones to data centers. In recent years, tech companies like Lenovo, Microsoft, and Samsung have introduced laptops powered by chips that use the Arm architecture: a chip design licensed from the British company of the same name. Windows has already been moving this direction But if these machines, and the chip that powers them, fall short of expectations, the future of Apple's computer business is at risk. If Apple is correct, then it points to an exciting future for the whole Mac lineup. Even with all of that, Apple says the M1 chip gives these machines, including that new Mac Mini, better performance than its own Intel-based line or most Windows PCs. But Apple is taking a decidedly different approach.Īrm-based Windows PCs, like Microsoft's Surface Pro X, boast long battery life and lightweight designs but often fall short of their more traditional Intel-based brethren when it comes to the raw computing power necessary to do real work.Īpple has said the new devices running on its M1 chip are the best of all possible worlds: The new MacBook Air doesn't have any fans, promising to be the quietest MacBook yet, while the updated MacBook Pro is said to show big gains in battery life over the previous model. Apple isn't the first tech giant to release laptops with chips based on the Arm standard, the same basic architecture as those found in mobile devices. With its own chips, Apple can finally bring the "secret sauce" long since incorporated into the iPhone - homemade chips that allow it to fine-tune performance and features - to the Mac.īut it's also a major gamble. The shift allows Apple to break away from Intel and exercise more freedom over the design, development, and launch cycle of its Mac computers.
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