iMac and MacBook: new schedule for Apple's ARM plans leaked
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In June, Apple announced that its Macs would switch to the ARM processors known from iPhone and iPad. A new report now gives updated details on the alleged schedule for iMac and MacBook.
At its developer conference WWDC at the end of June, the iPhone manufacturer announced that it will part ways with Intel. From now on its own processor architecture, currently known only as "Apple Silicon", will take Intel's place. For many years, such ARM processors, developed in-house by Apple, have been used in iPhones and iPads.
According to a recent report by The China Times, Apple will introduce an iMac with this Apple Silicon under the hood in the second half of 2021. According to industry sources, the new iMac will also feature Apple's own graphics chip, code name "Lifuka". There is currently no trace of support for the graphics chips from AMD used so far in macOS Big Sur for the ARM architecture.
12-inch MacBook the first Mac with Apple Silicon
In addition, a new MacBook in a 12-inch format is to be introduced by the end of 2020, which is supposed to be similar to the old MacBook. Like this ultra-thin notebook, the new MacBook will also have only one USB-C port. With a weight of less than one kilogram, the battery should still have enough endurance for 15 to 20 hours of use.
The processor will be the new A14X, codenamed Tonga, which is to be manufactured by TSMC using its 5nm process. This new chip will also power the next generation of the iPad Pro. Bloomberg had reported last April that Apple's first own Mac chips will have 12 cores. Apple is however exploring processors with more than 12 cores in the future according to this report.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently reported that the Cupertino-based company will initially equip a 13.3-inch MacBook Pro with the new chip. In March Kuo said that this notebook will be introduced in late 2020 or early 2021. Mass production should start in the 4th quarter of 2020, at the same time as a new MacBook Air. It is, therefore, possible that the 12-inch model mentioned in the report by The China Times above is a new variant of the MacBook Air.
TSMC is said to have already started manufacturing the necessary A14 and A14X chips. The former will be used in the iPhone 12. The new Apple smartphones will most likely be introduced in the coming weeks.
Source: The China Times
