Apple Working on ARM-Based Power Nap Chip
Mark Gurman and Ian King have reported in Bloomberg that Apple is working on a new ARM-based chip for future Macs that would manage Power Nap functionality. Power Nap enables recent Macs to perform certain tasks even while asleep, such as checking for new email messages, syncing iCloud data, and updating software, and the rumored new chip would reduce Power Nap’s already low energy usage. This story has fueled speculation that Apple will dump Intel CPUs for ARM-based processors like those it makes for its many non-Mac devices. However, nothing in this news indicates such a significant shift yet — this chip would merely supplement the core Intel processor’s capabilities, much like the ARM chip that controls the Touch Bar in the 2016 MacBook Pro.
INTEL has been holding Apple back long enough.
Holding Apple back from what?
Until macOS can run on an ARM chip with performance comparable to what Intel can deliver, running a Mac on ARM is a nonsense proposition. Change for the sake of change alone is a bonehead strategy that has polluted the Apple zeitgeist for too long already. Improving ARM performance for iOS devices makes sense. iPads in particular need a serious refresh. Development there has been lagging like it has with Mac desktops, depressing both sales and Apple's reputation. I can imagine Power Nap might be useful in iPhones and iPads—maybe. But that alone doesn't make ARM on the Mac any more feasible.