“According to the usually right Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo (via AppleInsider), the 12-inch MacBook is now Apple’s best-selling [Mac], with the 13-inch MacBook Pro coming in second,” Ashraf Eassa writes for The Motley Fool. “If this is the case, then I believe that if Intel had lost the spot in the next MacBook [to an Apple A-Series processor] (something Intel would know at this point), such a development would have had a material impact on the Chipzilla’s financial guidance for 2016.”
“At its most recent investor meeting, Intel said it expects revenue in its client computing group (CCG) to be anywhere from flat to up by a ‘low single-digit’ percentage from 2015 levels,” Eassa writes. “In light of this guidance, it’s hard to believe Intel has lost its spot in the next generation MacBook.”
Eassa writes, “Although I do think Apple could handle going through a messy architecture transition on the Mac, I think the risk/reward for such a move is quite poor.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As long as Apple’s A-Series processors keep making such strides and getting more powerful, this speculation will rage.
SEE ALSO:
Analyst: Apple’s iPad Pro and its powerful A9X CPU pose threat to Intel – November 12, 2015
A-series swap on Mac OS would be messy – palatable but messy. Apple is expert at this risk level, but I can’t see them dragging this out for ever. Either it’s all lines or none. Otherwise they would have to care for another compiled platform. They have four now, but only one for Mac OS X. (Mac OS (Intel), iOS, Apple Watch OS, Apple TV OS)
It would be messy and unpalatable. It would be a joke.
I keep hearing talk about Apple’s A-X processor having “desktop performance.” That, too, it a joke. The A-X processor is not even in the ballpark. If you want to see true desktop performance, look at this:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/3005414/computers/intel-plugs-72-core-supercomputing-chip-into-workstation.html
And you need that level of performance for every desktop for keeping up on Facebook?
No, some of us use our desktops for tasks beyond facebook.
But can you still type one handed?
It really does seem endless but I guess places like this forum are some of the few places that people push the boundaries of company hype without any sense of reality. They state endlessly such technical achievements are not only just around the corner but that a reference point that represents some 5% or so of computer sales should somehow dictate what everyone else needs and uses or that we will all be using it a year or so down the line, its just delusion applying it to the average computer user.
Intel has always boasted about what it can do in its labs, but seldom if ever has its geek oriented hype ever really had a lot of impact on general computing that meets that hype. One remembers all those handheld reference designs it produced 10 years back nothing of which was relevant to what has happened since and super computing chips aren’t going to have any real impact on what we use despite certain aspects creeping down eventually but which only give the usual slow advances in the Intel roadmap in the chips we use. The elite user seems to think the latest xeon is what dictates the market when when Atoms and Core M has far more impact on the average user experience.
So getting back to reality I don’t think the A class chip is ready or appropriate for the desktop for reasons other than raw power as things stand in the bigger picture, but there is no doubt that within the next year or two it is going to seriously embarrass most of the chips we currently or are likely to use from Intel for most of our computing functions. Indeed the lower end chips including Core M already are toast in that regard. I think therefore Apple as shown with the iPad Pro will push iOS products more and more into the laptop arena and see what the response is and allow that to dictate matters rather than go for a fundamental platform change across the board.
You need a 72-core desktop to accomplish your task?
Shameer, are you being intentionally daft or did you actually miss George’s point?
Apple is certainly monitoring the success of Microsoft’s Surface, but thankfully even Cook isn’t stupid enough to create one device that does all things. It’s not about the number of cores you can stuff into a laptop, it’s about keeping up with the competitors who continue to improve laptop and desktop performance while Apple falls behind with its Mac offerings.
Apple also does no service to have Cook make offhand comments that he has no plans to merge iOS and the Mac. It would be more reassuring if Apple actually maintained the Mac platform, kept professional software alive and well, and stopped dumbing down the interface to look and feel like iOS.
A-series chips with iOS and touchscreens is optimal for some lightweight tasks, but no matter how powerful Apple’s chips become, Intel will always have more performance because that’s Intel’s Core Market (get it?). Tablets will never replace Intel power with trackball/mouse desktop precision and OS X versatility. That is why loyal Mac users continue to question Apple’s failure to keep the Mac models anywhere near the cutting edge of performance. That’s what most Mac users want, and Apple lately has not delivered anything but travel fashion accessories and user-unfriendly designs aimed at hardware obsolescence when the original undersized battery dies.
Sounds like a gaming machine is in order… The CPU module looks like my old video card from ATI.
Your comparison was a “joke” and you know it. Anyone with a bit of sense about tech knows that the comparisons are to entry-level desktops, not workstation level.
“As long as Apple’s A-Series processors keep making such strides and getting more powerful, this speculation will rage.”
The A series processor is optimized for touch screen interface. Optimizing it for a Mouse interface would be relatively easy, however, programs expecting an Intel processor would require major surgery, and could take as long as 2 years to complete. Like the transition from Motorola to Intel, moving from Intel to A Series would take just as long (about 5 years), without a clear benefit to Apple or the consumer. The increase in production volume of the A Series processor is not enough (~6.5 million MacBooks per year) whereas iOS devices will generate >250 million in calendar 2016.
Yes, there will be cost advantages in the A Series processor, but not after adding processor development and iOS support costs to the manufacturing cost of the A Series processor.
Rumors of Apple moving the the A Series are pipe induced dreams.
The MacBook is the best selling? How the heck did he find that out. From personal experience, I don’t know a single person that owns one. In fact outside of the Apple Store I haven’t seen a single one in real-world use.
Does anyone where actually own one? or know someone that owns one?
Nope. Not seen one in the wild.
My daughter and friends all want conectivity for college, mouse, camera SD Card, through charging for their phone etc.
I got one to replace an aging 13″ Air. I really like it, and it is designed for mobility, not heavy lifting. It’s the perfect tool when I’m on the road, and it does fine for casual computing on the couch. When I need heavy artillery, I have Mac Pros with dual 30-inch monitors at home and the office.
The two guys above believe they along with their daughter and friends are the only ones living in the world. And Apples world most valuable company title is a lie!
And me. I too haven’t seen a 12″ Macbook in the wild, either, despite all the hype. I have seen a lot of MBP, though.
Actually, i’m part of the Apple Consultants Network, and look after several hundred Macs every day, from schools to business and a few home users. Not a single rMacBook among them. Even people buying new laptops are going for Air’s or MBPs.
Let’s hope the HELL NOT.
Faster processors, not the ones that “do what most people will use it for”. Speed, Speed and more speed.
24 hour battery.
Induction charging.
256 gigabyte XPoint ram
I have the new Macbook and love it! Retina display is awesome. The 8 gig ram helps. It is amazingly thin and portable. The down side is battery. I have never timed it, but I am guessing about 4 hours max. I have it plugged in most of the time and also have a USB battery charger that works well with the Macbook. I use an inexpensive USB adapter to connect with external hard drives or chargers. The new MB works great for my needs. I remember when I got mine at Best Buy, that the Apple store was SOLD OUT. So they are out in the “wild”. There are also plenty of accessories available for the new Macbook on Amazon. I love the 3D trackpad and the new keyboard as well. I think the Air will become the pro version and the Macbook will be mainly marketed for rest of us. I must mention that I run Windoz 10 in Parallels and it works fine as well. I have a 2TB wifi hard drive that works…OK. It is much better as USB3 though. I could probably get by with an iPad for 80% of my needs though, so the MB is just icing on cake. I have a 27″ iMac that rarely gets used anymore.