Apple to drop Intel chips (or not)

The romance between Apple and Intel has come to an end.

In 2005, Apple announced that it was switching to Intel processors for its desktop and laptop computers. Previously it had used PowerPC chips, and the laptops were called "PowerBooks". The first Intel-based laptops were called "MacBooks".

Now, Apple has announced plans to design its own processors. I'm certain that the folks over at Intel are less than happy.

Looking forward, I think a number of people will be unhappy with this change, from open source advocates to developers to even Apple itself.

Open source advocates may find that the new Apple-processor MacBooks are unable to run operating systems other than Apple's, which means that Linux will be locked out of the (new) Apple hardware. While only a miniscule number of people actually replace macOS with Linux (disclosure: I'm one) those who do may be rather vocal about the change.

Apple MacBooks are popular with developers. (Exactly why this is the case, I am not sure. I dislike the MacBook's keyboard and display, and prefer other equipment for my work. But maybe I have preferences different from most developers.)

Getting back to developers: They like Apple MacBooks. Look inside any start-up or small company, and MacBooks dominate the office space. I'm sure that part of this popularity is from Apple's use of NetBSD (a Unix derivative) as the base for macOS, which lets MacBook users run most Linux software.

When Apple switches from Intel to its own (probably proprietary) processor, will those utilities be available?

The third group affected by this change will be Apple itself. They may find that the development of processors is harder than they expect, with delays and trade-offs necessary for performance, power efficiency, security, and interfaces to other system components. Right now, Apple outsources those headaches to Intel. Apple may not like the decisions that Intel makes (after all, Intel serves other customers and must accommodate their needs as well as Intel's) and it may feel that control over the design will reduce those headaches.

In-sourcing the design of processors may reduce headaches... or it may simply move them. If Apple has been dissatisfied with Intel's delivery schedule for new chips, the new arrangement may simple mean that Apple management will be dissatisfied with their internal division's delivery schedule for new chips. Owning the design process may give Apple more control over the process but not total control over it.

The move from standard, well-known processors to proprietary and possibly not well-understood processors moves Apple away from the general market and into their own space. Apple desktops and laptops may become proprietary and secret, with Apple processors and Apple systems-on-a-chip and Apple operating systems and Apple drivers and Apple software, ... and only Apple able to upgrade, repair, or modify them.

That's a bit of a longshot, and I don't know that it will happen. Apple management may find the idea appealing, hoping for increased revenue. But it is a move towards isolationism, away from the "free trade" market that has made PCs popular and powerful. It's also a move to the market before the IBM PC, when small computers were not commodities but very different from each other. I'm not sure that it will help Apple in the long run.