If you haven't been paying attention, Apple has released their fifth Mac with the M1 series processor. The Mac Studio is single-handedly their most powerful computer to date, with the astounding M1 Ultra processor.
If Intel isn't soiling their pants about now, they clearly don't understand what is happening.
I made some noise a couple of weeks ago:
I was commenting on an article where Intel will be more efficient than M1 Max by the end of 2023. My retort was, by that time, Apple would be even more advanced than the M1 Max. So I might have been out about the M2. But we're still in 2022, and the Mac Pro isn't updated yet. The Mac Pro is the last machine to be upgraded to Apple's M series processors. And it's this fact that should have Intel scared.
Apple released the Mac Studio as an in-between Mac Mini and Mac Pro. A machine with a small footprint that can perform complex tasks easy. M1 Ultra knocks the socks off anything in the price range currently and even destroys the current Mac Pro. But think about that. If the Mac Studio is blitzing the Mac Pro, what is the Mac Pro with Apple's silicon going to do? The mind boggles at the thought.
At the end of next year, Intel will be at the level Apple is currently. Given that Apple went to their chips with the iPhone 4S, they released new chips each year that were more powerful than the previous; it seems reasonable to say they will do the same with the M series. And herein lies the problem for Intel. Apple won't be at M1 Max levels next year. They will be at M2 or above levels. Just think about that.
Apple said they would have ALL their products running Apple silicon within two years. We're almost at the end of that promise with one to come. All bets are that it will either be at WWDC in a couple of months or in October when Apple often releases new desktops/laptops.
Once this transition is complete, Apple will, without a doubt, concentrate on making better chips. When Apple is at this point, Intel might as well give up on the desktop market. Why would anyone buy an Intel-based computer when a Mac with Apple silicon can perform better than everything on the market?
Even Windows is moving towards ARM and will inevitably move away from Intel. Once again, when people see a Surface Pro with ARM outperforming similar specced Intels, people will question why use Intel. I admit this will take some time to achieve. But with Microsoft, Lenovo, and even HP starting to release ARM-based devices, Intel needs to get its act together.
I said over 15 years ago that Apple would come to a point where the existing technology would limit them, and they would have to develop their own. Apple has reached that point, and it was only natural to take ownership of their silicon. Apple had already done it with the "A" series processors in the iPhones and iPads. Desktops and laptops were the natural next step.
Intel is not going to feature in anything more of Apple's plans. They were only a stop-gap as Apple left IBM's PowerPC processors. The future is exciting if only to see if Apple's work will light a fire under Intel's bum.
