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Didn't Apple try this already with the Power PC chip, then switch to Intel? Why the 180 reversal of course?

detaro 6y ago
PowerPC wasn't really "Apples own", even if they had some input in the design. And ARM overall is a bigger ecosystem than PowerPC ever was, and they're not bound in fabrication now. I think it makes more sense to see it in the same line, not as a 180 reversal: They got PowerPC because it was a good solution at the time and the 68k they used beforehand couldn't keep up. Then 10 years later (during a time where that meant a massive increase in speeds etc: 10 years of PowerPC went from 60 Mhz to 2.3 Ghz) they saw that IBM couldn't keep up with Intel (and small unit numbers meant that it was expensive) and switched platforms to then-strongest choice. Now it's 15 years later, they already have expertise and designs for ARM from the mobile market, Intel is less clearly the leader in x86, ... and they are reconsidering again. To me, the connecting line is more that they are willing to break the ecosystem to follow wherever the best option is. You could see it as an reversal in that they go from niche (PowerPC) to mainstream (Intel) to niche (nobody makes ARM desktop systems), but I think that ignores that they already have leading expertise with ARM, ARM is not a niche overall (tooling support and ecosystem), they're not bound to fab tech of a specific company anymore (because they now can have whoever is the best in fabrication right now make their designs, that wasn't really a thing in PowerPC times), ...
- vinniejames 6y ago
  It seems to make more sense around the rumors iOS and OSX will merge into a single platform. One of the issues back in the PPC days was lack of applications on Macs. Partially due to the chip, as more apps supported Intel architecture. As soon as the switch to Intel happened it made porting existing software much easier. Assuming they move to ARM. I would bet my morning coffee that the plan is to merge iOS and OSX then start porting over mobile apps into the desktop system as opposed to requiring existing software packages to rewrite desktop software for the new platform.

PowerPC wasn't really "Apples own", even if they had some input in the design. And ARM overall is a bigger ecosystem than PowerPC ever was, and they're not bound in fabrication now. I think it makes more sense to see it in the same line, not as a 180 reversal: They got PowerPC because it was a good solution at the time and the 68k they used beforehand couldn't keep up. Then 10 years later (during a time where that meant a massive increase in speeds etc: 10 years of PowerPC went from 60 Mhz to 2.3 Ghz) they saw that IBM couldn't keep up with Intel (and small unit numbers meant that it was expensive) and switched platforms to then-strongest choice. Now it's 15 years later, they already have expertise and designs for ARM from the mobile market, Intel is less clearly the leader in x86, ... and they are reconsidering again. To me, the connecting line is more that they are willing to break the ecosystem to follow wherever the best option is. You could see it as an reversal in that they go from niche (PowerPC) to mainstream (Intel) to niche (nobody makes ARM desktop systems), but I think that ignores that they already have leading expertise with ARM, ARM is not a niche overall (tooling support and ecosystem), they're not bound to fab tech of a specific company anymore (because they now can have whoever is the best in fabrication right now make their designs, that wasn't really a thing in PowerPC times), ...

vinniejames 6y ago
It seems to make more sense around the rumors iOS and OSX will merge into a single platform. One of the issues back in the PPC days was lack of applications on Macs. Partially due to the chip, as more apps supported Intel architecture. As soon as the switch to Intel happened it made porting existing software much easier. Assuming they move to ARM. I would bet my morning coffee that the plan is to merge iOS and OSX then start porting over mobile apps into the desktop system as opposed to requiring existing software packages to rewrite desktop software for the new platform.