3 ms·

“I’m skeptical of a CPU change because of a bunch of things unrelated to CPU architectures” Don’t forget Apple has done this twice already, and it’s the only c

“I’m skeptical of a CPU change because of a bunch of things unrelated to CPU architectures” Don’t forget Apple has done this twice already, and it’s the only company that has done this at this scale and succeeded. If there is a company in that can pull off a cpu architecture switch, it is Apple.

monocasa 6y ago
The last two times there were obvious perf increases to smooth over the transition.
Slartie 6y ago
The question is not whether they can "technically" do it - of course they can, as they've already demonstrated. The question is whether they can make it work from a market perspective. Last time they transitioned from a niche architecture to the architecture that was already mainstream - and happened to be faster and more power-efficient as well. That was basically a no-brainer, it could not fail from a market perspective (from a technical perspective however, it could), because it essentialy tore down previously-existing compatibility barriers between whatever software the mainstream of computer users used and what Mac users used. This time, they would transition AWAY from the mainstream laptop and desktop computing architecture to a niche architecture in that area, which, while still maybe being more power-efficient and maybe even faster (we'll just have to give them the benefit of the doubt there until we hold actual hardware in our hands), erects new compatibility barriers between the mainstream architecture and all people using software based on it and Apple's computer offerings. This can only work from a market perspective if they either are big enough to drive such a momentum of customer and developer attention to this "new" platform that they essentially manage to make it successful all by themselves, or if they actually happen to be the harbinger of a future movement to ARM in desktop computing scenarios which will at some point in and out of itself be much larger than Apple's share of desktop computing space. If either one of these happens to turn out to be true, they will be able to make that transition work. If none of these turn out to be true, they will fail (measured by falling Mac market- and mind-share), regardless of whether they execute the transition well from a technical standpoint, which I agree they will be very likely to do.
- danielscrubs 6y ago
  > This can only work from a market perspective if they either are big enough to drive such a momentum of customer... It's Apple. Developers will make software releases in just months if they think the market will be there, and they will. Knowing that a new market is opening up that is not so crowded (like Nintendo Switch), will make developers very, very happy. Even Palm Pilot succeeded. You just have to convince people that Mac-users are willing to pay for software, which seems to be the case. The amount of developers nowadays are also crazy.
  - pier25 6y ago
    That only really works for small projects though. AFAIK today Apple is the only big developer making exclusive macOS products. If you think about it the vast majority of big apps are crossplatform projects (Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, all browsers, audio, video editing, animation, 3d, etc).
- sergeykish 6y ago
  Just like USB type C, headphone jack and adapters. There are ARM servers, Apple processors may become server processors. They could run iPhone, iPod applications on Macbook. Full day on one charge. Linux works fine on ARM. x64 in VM for compatibility. It is the best time - Intel is record low with vulnerabilities and process - switch to AMD or switch to ARM.
pier25 6y ago
No, I'm skeptical because for years Apple has been distracted about the Mac. It's a very different situation now than when Apple switched to Motorola or Intel. Edit: For example, how many times has Apple implemented a new keyboard on the Mac? And how many of those times they failed spectacularly?

monocasa 6y ago

The last two times there were obvious perf increases to smooth over the transition.

Slartie 6y ago

The question is not whether they can "technically" do it - of course they can, as they've already demonstrated. The question is whether they can make it work from a market perspective. Last time they transitioned from a niche architecture to the architecture that was already mainstream - and happened to be faster and more power-efficient as well. That was basically a no-brainer, it could not fail from a market perspective (from a technical perspective however, it could), because it essentialy tore down previously-existing compatibility barriers between whatever software the mainstream of computer users used and what Mac users used. This time, they would transition AWAY from the mainstream laptop and desktop computing architecture to a niche architecture in that area, which, while still maybe being more power-efficient and maybe even faster (we'll just have to give them the benefit of the doubt there until we hold actual hardware in our hands), erects new compatibility barriers between the mainstream architecture and all people using software based on it and Apple's computer offerings. This can only work from a market perspective if they either are big enough to drive such a momentum of customer and developer attention to this "new" platform that they essentially manage to make it successful all by themselves, or if they actually happen to be the harbinger of a future movement to ARM in desktop computing scenarios which will at some point in and out of itself be much larger than Apple's share of desktop computing space. If either one of these happens to turn out to be true, they will be able to make that transition work. If none of these turn out to be true, they will fail (measured by falling Mac market- and mind-share), regardless of whether they execute the transition well from a technical standpoint, which I agree they will be very likely to do.

danielscrubs 6y ago
> This can only work from a market perspective if they either are big enough to drive such a momentum of customer... It's Apple. Developers will make software releases in just months if they think the market will be there, and they will. Knowing that a new market is opening up that is not so crowded (like Nintendo Switch), will make developers very, very happy. Even Palm Pilot succeeded. You just have to convince people that Mac-users are willing to pay for software, which seems to be the case. The amount of developers nowadays are also crazy.
- pier25 6y ago
  That only really works for small projects though. AFAIK today Apple is the only big developer making exclusive macOS products. If you think about it the vast majority of big apps are crossplatform projects (Adobe, Autodesk, Microsoft, all browsers, audio, video editing, animation, 3d, etc).
sergeykish 6y ago
Just like USB type C, headphone jack and adapters. There are ARM servers, Apple processors may become server processors. They could run iPhone, iPod applications on Macbook. Full day on one charge. Linux works fine on ARM. x64 in VM for compatibility. It is the best time - Intel is record low with vulnerabilities and process - switch to AMD or switch to ARM.

pier25 6y ago

No, I'm skeptical because for years Apple has been distracted about the Mac. It's a very different situation now than when Apple switched to Motorola or Intel. Edit: For example, how many times has Apple implemented a new keyboard on the Mac? And how many of those times they failed spectacularly?