On Monday, June 22nd, Apple announced some very big news: they’re going to start making Macs using Apple-designed chips. A quick explanation on what we mean by “chips”: all computers have hardware inside of them that run the software we use every day. You may have heard the term “CPU” or “processor” - if so, that’s what we’re talking about. You can think of them as the “brain” of your computer.
Apple currently buys their chips from Intel. Longtime Mac users may remember when they used a type of processor called PowerPC, and how they transitioned to using Intel. What they announced in June is a similar transition, and a change they are making for many of the same reasons: Apple believes that this new design of chip will allow them to make faster, more power-efficient Macs in the future.
If you’re wondering if Apple is any good at making their own processors, good news! The iPhones they’ve made for the last decade have been using Apple-designed chips, and are consistently the fastest in the industry. They’ve got a lot of experience, and are bringing that to the Mac.
So, what does that mean for you, as a Mac user? Not much. Apple expects this transition to take about two years. In that time, they will continue to sell Intel-based Macs, and these computers will continue to be great for years to come. Software will keep running on them, just as it does today. The last time they did a transition like this, it took about five years for Apple’s software to truly move on from Intel, and we’re expecting that it will be roughly similar this time.
As always, feel free to contact us if you have questions about your Mac, which new Mac is right for you, and what’s coming next!
