Starting 2020 Apple Will No Longer Use Intel processors

Over at Bloomberg word got out that Apple will be fabbing a self-developed CPU for their Mac computers. That means Apple will be giving Intel the boot when it comes to processors.

It's even mentioned that it will not stop with just processors as Apple wants to tie everything together, a larger project with code name Kalamata learns that Apple wants all its devices to work seamlessly together, so besides Macs also the iPhones and iPads. Apple is working on a new software platform called Marzipan (which may already be released this year), which makes it possible to run apps for the iPhone and iPad on the Macs. Apple is 5% of Intel's business, the shares of Intel dropped by 9.2 percent when the news was revealed.

-- Bloomberg -- The shift would be a blow to Intel, whose partnership helped revive Apple’s Mac success and linked the chipmaker to one of the leading brands in electronics. Apple provides Intel with about 5 percent of its annual revenue, according to Bloomberg supply chain analysis.Intel shares dropped as much as 9.2 percent, the biggest intraday drop in more than two years, on the news. They were down 6.4 percent at $48.75 at 3:30 p.m. in New York.

Apple could still theoretically abandon or delay the switch. The company declined to comment. Intel said, “We don’t comment on speculation about our customers.”

For Apple, the change would be a defining moment. Intel chips remain some of the only major processor components designed by others inside Apple’s product portfolio. Currently, all iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and Apple TVs use main processors designed by Apple and based on technology from Arm Holdings Plc. Moving to its own chips inside Macs would let Apple release new models on its own timelines, instead of relying on Intel’s processor roadmap.

“We think that Apple is looking at ways to further integrate their hardware and software platforms, and they’ve clearly made some moves in this space, trying to integrate iOS and macOS,” said Shannon Cross, an analyst at Cross Research. “It makes sense that they’re going in this direction. If you look at incremental R&D spend, it’s gone into ways to try to vertically integrate their components so they can add more functionality for competitive differentiation.”