NGL! 2020 has been a wild year for quite a few reasons. From a global pandemic effecting millions of people’s daily lifestyle to horrifying airport explosions. The last 8 months have got to be the longest 2/3rd of a year I have spent so far, and let me tell you I am two decades old already.
Apple isn’t alien to the idea of dropping bombs in the tech industry. And, rightfully so, the multi-trillion dollar US-based Tech-Goliath did not disappoint. On WWDC 2020, Apple announced that their in-house A-series chips (used in the existing iPhones), running on ARM code, will completely replace Intel’s x86 architecture based processors (used in their current Macs).
apple to the core – the alliance ends
Intel has been making chips for apple since 2005 for their MacBooks and iMacs. Apple’s announcement, favouring their in house chips over Intel’s, marked the end of what we can call one of the most fruitful partnerships in the tech industry.
As being one of the forerunners in the business, Apple has always looked to gain more control over their hardware production and optimization. The transition from Intel to Apple silicon was long anticipated to say the least. This will enable the iPhone maker to slowly expurgate the limitations of the existing software-hardware correlation.
The new go to…
Okay! Finally let’s discuss the elephant in the room. Apple silicon! What is it? More importantly, why is it? How would this change the current geography of computing devices as a whole? All these questions linger around as we approach the unveiling of the new macs later this year.
So what do we exactly mean by Apple silicon? These are the A-series chips used to power the iPhones so far. The new macs releasing on fall, this year (supposedly) is rumored to arm itself (‘arm’ see what I did there :p) with the pretty powerful A14x chip.
The Apple sauce here will be exclusively made by the Chinese manufacturer TMSC who have been making chips for the likes of Apple and even Huawei in the past. After the recent fall out of Huawei with the US government, TMSC has stopped making chips for their Chinese brethren enabling them to commit to Apple’s needs. Apple’s announcement may as well hint that TMSC’s 5nm processors have cleared all the requisite tests and are ready for mass production.
what changed?
Let’s be real! The average user doesn’t care about all this processor-dye thickness or this optimization fuss. What’s important is how it translates to a real-world use case! And to be very honest, the rumors don’t let us down.
The A14x bionic chip is known to be one of the fastest computing engines out there in the market, according to benchmarks. Apple has promised that the new macs will be much more optimized. What’s more appealing is efficiency. Tim Cook claimed that the new 12-inch MacBook with Retina Display will make a comeback this year with a whopping 15-20 hours of battery life. We are not sure how apple conducts their battery tests on these devices. But it’s still impressive compared to yesteryear’s devices.
Now coming to the price! It is nothing new that Apple charges a premium for an ubiquitous, get-work-done-first-fast kind of experience with their software finesse. Love it or Hate it! No one can deny that apple products, with their industrial look, are an absolute engineering marvel. But all this comes with an eye-watering price tag! The last MacBook air started at a reasonably affordable tag of 899$ which increases further down the line-up. The good news keeps on piling up here as the recent rumors have confirmed that the new 12-inch MacBook will start at 849$ (799$ for students). Considering the significant step up in performance, the price is pretty attractive!
2020 12-inch Macbook – what we know so far?
One of the very first transition devices will be the new 12-inch MacBook (likely to replace the 13-inch MacBook Air). Although Apple hasn’t been very vocal about the spec sheet. But fortunately, rumors spread like wildfire in this era of internet supremacy. We have come to know from trusted sources that the new 12-inch MacBook will be likely to sport –
-12-inch Retina Display
-4380 mAh battery (15-20 hours of battery life)
-Apple Silicon (supposedly)
-8GB/16GB RAM Options
-256/512GB SSD Storage Options
Most of which have been directly tweeted by @komiya_kj
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the transition
Ming-Chi Kuo has confirmed that the new MacBooks will be the first to sport the Apple chips inside them, followed by the iMacs and the iMac pros. Tim Cook is pretty positive that the said transition period to the new ARM based chips will be around 2 years.
some doubts still remain
Although there only nice things to say so far. There are still some queries that needs to be addressed by apple in order to consistently maintain the customer satisfaction they have gained over the years. The first being the availability of the chips. When it comes to any electronic devices reparability has always been one of the prime lookouts for the general public. TMSC’s supply will play a huge part in the reparability and the repair-cost for the new apple products.
The main question is should you wait for the new Apple silicon Macs or just get an Intel one. Well, I have always been a believer of the saying that the right time is now. If you are an artist, a musician, a programmer and you need to get your work done as fast as possible just see what’s in the market now that suits your needs. Act when you still have the motivation for the thing you want to do and create. No macs now will let you down when it comes to workflow.
However, if you’re like me one of the lesser creative enthusiast bunch. Umm, I’d wait for the Apple silicon to arrive in the next two months and reconsider my options accordingly. I mean, despite being a windows user you can’t deny that inkling towards the Apple ChARM.
