“Will Apple build a Mac of some stripe with an ARM processor as the main CPU (as opposed to the Touch ID ARM chip in some MacBook Pros, which are task specific)?” Dave Mark writes for The Loop. “That does seem to be the way the wind is blowing.”
“The benefits are clear. More of the stack for Apple to control (though manufactured by TSMC, Apple controls the design of chips like the A11),” Mark writes. “An ARM chip would bring longer battery life, and could bring mobile capabilities like Face ID and on-chip AI for blazing fast machine learning and augmented reality processing.”
“Could this yield even thinner laptops?” Mark writes. “Before they do that, I’d hope that Apple considers making the keyboards and battery easier to replace.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: One way to go thinner (although we’d happily trade that for more battery) would be to (finally) use something like Liquidmetal.
SEE ALSO:
Apple patent describes Liquidmetal housing for electronic devices – January 27, 2017
Evidence suggests Apple to use breakthrough Liquidmetal somewhere soon – October 18, 2016
Apple supplier Catcher CEO: One iPhone model will adopt glass casing next year – May 19, 2016
Apple granted key U.S patent for Touch ID fingerprint recognition integrated into Multi-Touch display – May 18, 2016
Apple supplier LG Innotek embeds fingerprint sensor into display – May 4, 2016
Why the 2017 iPhone will be made of Liquidmetal – April 18, 2016
Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple’s 2017 iPhone to feature new ‘all glass’ enclosure – April 18, 2016
Professor behind Liquidmorphium Turing Phone invests in Liquidmetal, named to Board, enters into cross-licensing agreement – March 14, 2016
3D fingerprint sensors under Gorilla Glass may let Apple kill iPhone’s Home button – July 21, 2015
The Turing Phone is not made out of Liquidmetal – July 15, 2015
Why does Apple keep extending their partnership with Liquidmetal? – June 25, 2015
Apple extends Liquidmetal exclusivity deal through February 2016 – June 23, 2015
Apple working on eliminating the Home button on iPhone, iPad, sources say – June 22, 2015
Two new Liquidmetal patent filings from Apple revealed; list watch and jewelry among potential uses – April 23, 2015
Apple files for patent to move Touch ID fingerprint scanner from home button to display – February 9, 2015
Liquidmetal’s Apple alliance yet to bear fruit – September 30, 2014
Apple’s new Liquidmetal-related patent sparks speculation – July 7, 2014
Apple patents method for embedding sapphire displays in LiquidMetal device chassis – May 27, 2014
Liquidmetal-Visser agreement paves the way for more rapid adoption of amorphous metal manufacturing – May 21, 2014
Apple extends Liquidmetal exclusivity deal through February 2015 – May 21, 2014
the mythical unicorn known as liquidmetal although chips sound like an advantage
Apple still has their contract with liquidmetal, so they’re still planning to use it. The year they don’t renew is the year you can assume they’re done with the experiment.
Maybe if somebody tells Tim Cook that the next Mac Pro is a new gigantic iPhone model he will pay attention to update it.
Yes!
Mr. Cook,
Please make an iPhone with a 32″ 8K screen!
Sincerely,
Noone
It seems as though all Apple products are turning into iPhone-type products. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. I can only pray Apple has a better vision of the future than I do. I know things can’t always remain the same for decades. It’s just that Apple is so darn dependent on all things iPhone, it scares me.
I realize a computer is just a tool to get work done, but iPhones still seem a bit limited to me to replace desktops and laptops.
” I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”
I can tell you from a hard core professional user’s standpoint it is *NOT* a good thing.
I agree.
And why keep making things thinner?
Apple should just go with the new Intel chips that has a bazillion cores and keep MacOS from morphing into iOS.
I’ll heartily second that! …
I say the pro users should always have a modular option for component swaps no matter what. Should be supported longer for os and software support as well.
Shadow, seems to me not a good thing either. But, wha’ do I know? Except I want a MacBook that I can change RAM and disk easily. My 2014 MacBook Pro 13″ is already thin enough.
I’d like to see a MacBook Pro with user replaceable NVMe (up to 4 TB) and RAM (up to 32 GB).
Not much to ask for, Apple. Plus, the laptop will still be F***ING THIN. :/
Not gonna happen… but…
16GB installed expandable to 32GB
15.6inch edge-to-edge compact design
4.9mm thin bezels
144Hz refresh rate available
100% sRGB or Adobe RGBsupport
4K Touch Available
Up to 2TB NVMe SSD
8th Gen Intel Core Processor 6-core
nVidia GTX 1060 or 1070
Starts around $2600 and this is not the PRO model!
Yeah, it runs Windows 10, but Windows has come a very long way and is the foundation upon which everything important in computing is being built on. macOS is home, but… I’m not interested in a laptop that is more iPhone than Mac, and I’ve outgrown emojis. I know the spirit of the game is to hate Windows, but I just can’t anymore. Instead I mourn the Mac.
I am so sick of these rumors.
Any loss in performance when virtualizing non-Mac software on a Mac would render the Mac lineup dead.
Apple already tried to remove performance from a Mac when it released the shiteous overpriced single port 2015 MacBook, which by any objective assessment would be classified as a netbook. Now the analysts think Apple will follow up that sales disaster with another netbook having even less software compatibility?
Apple Surface RT. Go ahead Apple, just commit suicide already so these goddamn rumors go away.
The mainstream and hardcore Mac users are still waiting for updates to the Mac Pro, Mac mini, a new mid-range desktop tower with modest internal expansion, a true replacement for the MacBook Air, thicker better performing MacBook Pros, a 17″ professional MBP, 32″ displays, and user upgradeability and maintainability like any real professional product has. For Apple to deliver anything less than this is a failure and executives should be let go if they can’t deliver.
In no way is virtualizing “mainstream”. It has has always been something you can do, but it’s never even -been- mainstream. Today’s mainstream users, you know, those folks you can see walking out of Apple Stores today with the Macs they JUST bought, by definition are NOT waiting for updates to the Mac Pro, or mac mini. They’re not waiting for a mid-range desktop tower with expansion. They’re not waiting for a true replacement for the MacBook Air OR thicker better performing 17″ MacBook Pros, or 32 inch displays. And, definitely not waiting for user upgradeability.
And at this point, anyone waiting for ANY of that should take a good hard look at the last 6 to 10 years, and realize they’re going to be waiting forever. 🙂 Apple WILL deliver less than this (by now, it’s almost guaranteed), and, by your definition WILL be a failure. But their executives won’t be let go and by my estimation, they’ll still make tons of money.
Wrong Again, the número uno Mac HATER on MDN. Can’t wait until you are proven wrong again …