Apple’s debut of its in-house M1 chip during November 2020 was the first milestone in Apple’s transition away from Intel reliance. Apple had planned a two-year period to pave the road for the company to complete its transition. Now, a new report claims WWDC 2022 will see the completion of this transition period.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is developing a brand new Mac Pro, a new Mac mini, and an iMac Pro with a large screen. All three new devices are said to be backed by Apple silicon. These will prove to be the defacto finish line in the company’s plan. As explained in Gurman’s latest Power On newsletter (seen by 9to5Mac), the three devices may be unveiled during the first half of 2022.
“The company has a bevy of new pro Macs in the works based on the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips that are already inside the MacBook Pro. That includes a smaller Mac Pro with up to 40 CPU cores and 128 graphics cores, a new Mac mini and a large-screened iMac Pro. I’d expect Apple to finish its transition to its own silicon from Intel chips as early as June at WWDC 2022,” Gurman wrote.
He also discusses the next-generation chip from Apple. Tentatively dubbed the ‘M2’ chip, it’s said that while expected in 2022, it won’t offer any major performance improvements but will feature “the same overall CPU core count”. Apple’s M1 offers four high-performance cores and four energy-efficient cores. Though, Gurman believes the M2 will feature a modestly improved GPU. The differences between the M1 and M2 are said to be comparable to the improvements made between Apple’s annual iPhone upgrades.
The report also backs up previous claims that Apple is working on a major refresh to its MacBook Air. It’s believed that the new device will sport the M2 chip over the M1 Pro and M1 Max silicon. It’s also expected that the new MacBook Air will feature the “biggest redesign in the product’s history.”
Apple’s breakup with Intel has long been openly discussed by the iPhone maker. Rather than rely on Intel to make meaningful innovations, Apple has taken ownership over the silicon in its own devices. So far, it’s been met with positive reception. Though, Apple silicon is still in its infancy. It remains to be seen if the M2 can impress next year.
Monday, November 15th marks the 50th anniversary of Intel’s first central processing unit (CPU), the Intel 4004.
Officially unveiled in November 1971, the 4004 microprocessor was a slow beginning for the company, but it helped pave the way for computers as we know them today. Processors are ingrained in most aspects of daily life now — laptops, smartphones, game consoles, cars and more rely on these little chips (so much so that the supply of all these things is extremely limited as the world grapples with an ongoing chip shortage).
Image credit: Intel
One of the things I found most interesting about the 4004 is how the numbers stack up to today. The Intel 4004 sported 2,300 transistors compared to the billions you’d find on a current-gen Intel Core processor.
Similarly, the Intel 4004 boasted a circuit line width of 10 microns (about 10,000 nanometers). Intel says its current chips have circuit lines ranging between 45 and 32 nanometers.
Those interested in learning more about the history of the Intel 4004 can check out this page on Intel’s website.
During its ‘Innovation’ event on October 27th, Intel officially unveiled its 12th Gen Core desktop processors, including what the company claims is the “world’s best gaming processor,” the i9-12900K.
The 12th Gen family of processors will include more than 60 processors and over 500 designs but is starting with six new desktop processors. The 12900K leads the pack boasting 5.2GHz turbo boost speed with 16 cores and 24 threads. Intel says the CPU offers “amazing gen-over-gen performance,” which includes over 20 percent more frames per second (FPS) in popular titles like Troy: A Total War Saga, Hitman 3 and Far Cry 6.
The 12th Gen platform as a whole offers some key advancements as well, such as support for DDR5 memory, support for PCIe 5.0 (up to 16 lanes), offering 2x I/O throughput over PCIe 4.0, up to 30MB of Intel Smart Cache (L3), integrated high-speed wireless with Wi-Fi 6E support and discrete Thunderbolt 4 universal cable connectivity.
Additionally, Intel says the new processors feature a performance hybrid architecture and are the first built on “Intel 7 process.” As a reminder, Intel explained in a product road map released in the summer that ‘Intel 7’ was the new name for the 10nm process the company would use in its 12th Gen chips. Intel also claimed its 10nm process was comparable to the 7nm process offered by other companies like TSMC.
Intel’s performance hybrid architecture uses a mix of what the company calls ‘P-cores’ and ‘E-cores,’ which represent performance and efficiency respectively. By mixing P- and E-cores, Intel’s new CPUs should be able to offer excellent performance when needed, while also offering reduced power consumption when high-performance isn’t needed.
Aside from the gaming benefits, Intel also claims the new architecture enables significant improvements for content creation. That includes 36 percent faster photo editing, 32 percent faster video editing, 37 percent faster 3D modelling and 100 percent faster multi-frame rendering.
Of course, it remains to be seen how Intel’s 12th Gen chips stack up to AMD’s excellent Ryzen chips and Apple’s surprisingly powerful M1, M1 Pro and M1 Max chips. Intel has been losing ground to the former on the PC side and has lost the latter on the Mac side, something CEO Pat Gelsinger wants to change. But to win Apple back, Intel’s going to need to do a lot better — it’s not clear yet if these new CPUs will be enough.
Intel says its unlocked 12th Gen desktop processors are now available for pre-order with broad availability to start on November 4th. You can learn more on Intel’s website.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger is hoping to win back Apple’s business.
In an interview with Ina Fried, Axios’ chief technology correspondent, on Axios on HBO, Gelsinger discussed his ‘plan’ for getting Apple back. You can basically sum up the plan as ‘make better chips than Apple.’
Watch the clip in the video embedded below, or check out the transcription for Gelsinger’s full answer:
“Fried: Recently Apple said they’re moving from Intel chips on the Mac to homegrown processors. Have you given up on the idea of the Mac running on Intel chips?
Gelsinger: I never give up on the idea of anything not running on Intel chips. And, you know, hey, you know, our stumbles, you know, Apple decided they could do a better chip themselves than we could. And, you know, they did a pretty good job. So what I have to do is create a better chip than they can do themselves. I would hope to win back this piece of their business, as well as many other pieces of business, over time. And in the meantime, I got to make sure that our products are better than theirs, that my ecosystem is more open and vibrant than theirs, and we create more compelling reason for developers and users to land on Intel-based products. So, I’m going to fight hard to win Tim’s business in this area.”
For some added context, Apple began to transition its computers away from Intel’s chips in June 2020. In place of Intel chips, Apple started developing and using its own processors based on ARM designs, similar to what’s used in smartphones and tablets (including Apple’s iPhone and iPad). The first such chip, dubbed the ‘M1,’ has appeared in MacBooks, iMacs, Mac minis and the iPad Pro line. Further, the company is expected to unveil new computers at an event on October 18th featuring a new version of the chip, possibly called ‘M1X’ or ‘M2.’
The thing is, making a better chip is easier said than done — and even if Intel manages to do it, I’m not sure that’ll be enough to win back Apple. Aside from the performance and battery life benefits of the switch to its own ARM-based silicon, Apple is also able to more tightly control its hardware and software stack by using its own chips. I don’t see Apple giving that up just because Intel’s chips manage to pull ahead in performance.
Plus, Intel has been pumping out some pretty terrible, desperate-feeling ads that try to dunk on Apple by touting the “benefits” of Intel chips — benefits that often have little to do with Intel’s chips.
The one upside to Gelsinger’s comment is that hopefully in Intel’s effort to win Apple back, it creates some truly excellent products for Windows users. Intel’s started to lag behind the competition and with AMD’s CPU division firing on all cylinders, Intel’s going to have to step up its game to keep its CPU crown.
As with other recent ads from Intel, this one picks a few areas to bash Apple computers over that, again, have almost nothing to do with the processor inside the computer. Those areas include customizing your computer, gaming, having two touchscreens and 2-in-1 form factors.
What makes this ad particularly annoying is Intel uses the classic ‘put people in a room to tell them about one thing, then reveal you were talking about something else’ format. Several of the people in the ad act completely shocked at various “innovative new features,” even though most have been around for a while.
The ad’s fine print notes that they are “real people paid for their time and opinions,” but nobody speaks like these people. One person loudly exclaims they are “100 percent loyal to Apple” and another looks at an RGB gaming rig and calls it “artwork.”
Before I get too much deeper into this, I want to acknowledge a few things. First, it’s entirely possible that people who don’t spend their days writing about tech wouldn’t know about some of these features. However, anyone that has shopped for a laptop in at least the last five years would know about 2-in-1s and multi-touchscreen computers. Plus, PC gaming has been around basically as long as the computer has.
The other thing I want to say is that I hope the criticisms I lay out here don’t come off as favouring either company. I wouldn’t call myself a fan of Intel or Apple — I have no allegiance to either one, and as far as the processor in my computer goes, it doesn’t matter to me as long as it works (and works well).
Intel’s “benefits” don’t have anything to do with the CPU
That said, Intel’s arguments against Apple computers are foolish. Let’s break them down, starting with the computer customization angle. Intel implies in the ad that people can buy a PC and freely swap out the hardware — for example, upgrade the RAM if they need more. That may be the case with some computers, but chances are if you walk into a Best Buy and purchase a laptop, you won’t be able to upgrade the components inside it. On the other hand, Apple is arguably worse in this regard since it puts the RAM and processor on the same chip. While that yields performance benefits, it also kills the potential for future upgrades.
But let’s be honest — Apple was never keen on letting people upgrade the parts in old Intel-powered Macs. Making it more difficult for people to upgrade computers with Apple Silicon is just Apple backing up a long-held stance.
Next up, dual touchscreens and 2-in-1 formatting. I’m going to lump these together because neither has anything to do with the processor. Apple doesn’t offer either of these form factors because, as far as I can tell, it doesn’t want to. The company has staunchly kept the iPad and MacBook lines separate despite continuously marketing the iPad Pro as a laptop replacement. I know the M1 chip isn’t a factor here because it currently powers both the latest MacBook and the latest iPad Pro — Apple Silicon could power some iPad-Mac hybrid device if Apple chose to make one.
I also know Intel’s chips aren’t at fault for this because several Windows 2-in-1s use the company’s hardware. Again, if Apple had wanted to make an iPad-Mac hybrid running on an Intel chip, it could have.
Also, I doubt Apple will ever put two screens on a MacBook. The company has always portrayed itself as a stickler for design, and every dual-screen laptop I’ve seen tosses good design out the window to squeeze in that extra display.
Apple’s M1 chip didn’t ruin gaming on Mac — it already sucked
Finally, the gaming argument. Yes, the hardware in your computer matters when gaming, but it’s also not the reason why Macs suck for gaming. Hardware impacts gaming in two ways — it determines first if you can even play a game, and second how good the game looks. That first part really comes down to game developers and what platforms they target — most of them develop games for Windows PCs, which primarily use Intel or AMD CPUs.
If a game developer wanted, they could totally build a game for an ARM-powered device, such as Apple’s M1 MacBook. But they don’t. Even when MacBooks ran on Intel hardware, developers didn’t make many games for them. Largely, this was because the player base on Apple computers was so small that the cost of porting to Mac didn’t make sense. I imagine the move to ARM-based chips didn’t help in that regard, but it’s definitely not the reason Macs suck for gaming.
Perhaps the worst part of Intel’s ad is that none of these features Intel boasts about are Intel-exclusive. The Vergepointed out that there are AMD-powered options with the features Intel touted as benefits of Intel-powered PCs. Plus, AMD is closing the market-share gap between it and Intel — maybe Intel should be focusing on something other than attacking Apple.
The ongoing chip shortages plaguing smartphones, computers, game consoles and cars will likely get worse as China plans to shut off power to reduce emissions.
According to Tom’s Hardware, the country plans to temporarily shut off power in several major manufacturing hubs, and do so on a scheduled basis going forward. The mandated power shutdowns are reportedly an effort to reduce emissions as China shifts away from coal-powered electricity. The power shutdowns will likely impact electronics companies like Apple, Intel, Nvidia, Qualcomm and more.
As of 2019, as much as 65 percent of the electricity in China came from coal. Although China has promised the UN that it would not build any more new coal-fueled power plants and would increase reliance on other energy sources, the transition will take time. With coal prices surging, China has ordered the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong to cut total energy consumption. That’s why local governments plan to cut electricity supply to industrial customers and malls for several days each month.
The cuts will impact some companies more than others. For example, Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm have production facilities in China that have received orders to stop production for several days in late September. Eson Precision Engineering, a mechanical parts supplier for Apple and Tesla, received orders to halt production from September 26th to 30th.
However, Reutersnotes that the restrictions won’t apply to manufacturers with continuous production cycles. That includes TSMC and UMC — TSMC makes chips for Apple, AMD, Nvidia and several other companies.
Apple’s leading manufacturing partner, Foxconn, also shut down several facilities on Monday, according to Nikkei. Pegatron, another iPhone assembler, also had to shut down but has continued operations using diesel generators. Other manufacturing facilities are considering night shifts to make up for the lost time from power cuts.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen what impact, if any, the mandated power outages have on emissions. As Tom’s Hardware points out, most manufacturers will find ways around the restrictions, such as implementing night shifts, using generators or boosting production at other facilities not impacted by the limits. In other words, companies will shift power consumption to different times if they can, which could mean the mandated outages won’t have a significant impact on emissions.
