3 ms·

Also: On a desktop machine, there’s no benefit in lower power dissipation and slimmer bodies If you’re in a hot climate then every little bit helps. Lower you

Also: On a desktop machine, there’s no benefit in lower power dissipation and slimmer bodies If you’re in a hot climate then every little bit helps. Lower your power bill due both to lower consumption on the part of your computer and due to the AC coming on that much less. Run the computers fan less. Maybe even have a Mini that does a surprising amount of what you’d buy a Pro for. Make the iMac that much more of a flat screen.

lunixbochs 6y ago
> On a desktop machine, there’s no benefit in lower power dissipation and slimmer bodies The obvious win for me is shipping multiple times as many cores in the same TDP. If Apple used a chiplet strategy and good interconnect to make scaling easy - imagine a 16-core Mac Mini, 64-core iMac Pro, and something obscene (256 cores?) in a Mac Pro.
- Eric_WVGG 6y ago
  Exactly. If Intel's 3ghz cpu eats 262W and emits 895 BTU/h, and Apple's passively cooled ARM laptop chip eats 130W and 450 BTU/h (completely made up numbers), how fast would Apple's ARM chip run with active cooling and 250W?
pier25 6y ago
> If you’re in a hot climate then every little bit helps Jesus, yes. I live in Mexico and when it's hot anything other than idle or small bursts of CPU brings my iMac to 60-70ºC and I hate fan noise.
- egypturnash 6y ago
  same, I wrote that comment sitting outside a cafe in New Orleans. 80ºF, plus humidity. I can only assume that Gassée has not spent much time in the tropics, or that if he has, he is more than wealthy enough to not worry about the cost of running the AC constantly. :)
OldHand2018 6y ago
I read that paragraph and had a completely orthogonal thought. Intel mobile CPUs compare favorably to all established competition (AMD) and the iPad with Magic Keyboard is almost a laptop anyway. Why start with a mobile device? Intel desktop CPUs are where they have problems and you would assume that this is where Apple has the most frustration with Intel. That's where I'd start. Also, by keeping ARM and Intel around simultaneously for a few years (both as first-class citizens) forces developers to maintain portable code. If you are using Swift in the manner that they want you to use it, this is already the case. If you're using some other language/approach then you have to either think about adopting Swift or putting in more work.
- ChrisLTD 6y ago
  The thing is, the majority of Macs sold are laptops. It doesn’t make sense for them as a business to build a strategy around what’s best for desktop machines.
  - OldHand2018 6y ago
    Yes, if their plan was to keep both platforms forever it wouldn't make much sense. But if they have a 2-3 year transition plan, it might make more sense to start with something for which low sales is still a success.
- mrkstu 6y ago
  Compared to other x86 alternatives, historically true. Compared to Apple processors? Not so much. There isn't an Intel processor that is near the performance/watt in the iPad Pro, especially factoring in graphics performance.
Cthulhu_ 6y ago
Yup, and if they reduce power consumption (and heat generation) per core, they can cram more in the same device without having to upgrade the cooling or power supply, and they'll have to throttle less if temperature limits are reached. It's always worthwhile to get more performance-per-watt.

lunixbochs 6y ago

> On a desktop machine, there’s no benefit in lower power dissipation and slimmer bodies The obvious win for me is shipping multiple times as many cores in the same TDP. If Apple used a chiplet strategy and good interconnect to make scaling easy - imagine a 16-core Mac Mini, 64-core iMac Pro, and something obscene (256 cores?) in a Mac Pro.

Eric_WVGG 6y ago
Exactly. If Intel's 3ghz cpu eats 262W and emits 895 BTU/h, and Apple's passively cooled ARM laptop chip eats 130W and 450 BTU/h (completely made up numbers), how fast would Apple's ARM chip run with active cooling and 250W?

pier25 6y ago

> If you’re in a hot climate then every little bit helps Jesus, yes. I live in Mexico and when it's hot anything other than idle or small bursts of CPU brings my iMac to 60-70ºC and I hate fan noise.

egypturnash 6y ago
same, I wrote that comment sitting outside a cafe in New Orleans. 80ºF, plus humidity. I can only assume that Gassée has not spent much time in the tropics, or that if he has, he is more than wealthy enough to not worry about the cost of running the AC constantly. :)

OldHand2018 6y ago

I read that paragraph and had a completely orthogonal thought. Intel mobile CPUs compare favorably to all established competition (AMD) and the iPad with Magic Keyboard is almost a laptop anyway. Why start with a mobile device? Intel desktop CPUs are where they have problems and you would assume that this is where Apple has the most frustration with Intel. That's where I'd start. Also, by keeping ARM and Intel around simultaneously for a few years (both as first-class citizens) forces developers to maintain portable code. If you are using Swift in the manner that they want you to use it, this is already the case. If you're using some other language/approach then you have to either think about adopting Swift or putting in more work.

ChrisLTD 6y ago
The thing is, the majority of Macs sold are laptops. It doesn’t make sense for them as a business to build a strategy around what’s best for desktop machines.
- OldHand2018 6y ago
  Yes, if their plan was to keep both platforms forever it wouldn't make much sense. But if they have a 2-3 year transition plan, it might make more sense to start with something for which low sales is still a success.
mrkstu 6y ago
Compared to other x86 alternatives, historically true. Compared to Apple processors? Not so much. There isn't an Intel processor that is near the performance/watt in the iPad Pro, especially factoring in graphics performance.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

Yup, and if they reduce power consumption (and heat generation) per core, they can cram more in the same device without having to upgrade the cooling or power supply, and they'll have to throttle less if temperature limits are reached. It's always worthwhile to get more performance-per-watt.