Apple Inc.’s long-rumored plan to develop a new line of Mac computers based on Arm Ltd. chip blueprints is set to be formally announced at its virtual WWDC developer event this month, according to a Bloomberg report today.

WWDC, which will feature Apple’s top executives such as Chief Executive Tim Cook (pictured) introducing new products and services, is set to kick off on June 22. The sources cited in the report cautioned, however, that there’s a chance Apple will call off the announcement and push it back by several months.

Apple’s Mac line has exclusively used central processing units from Intel Corp. since 2006. Back in 2018, reports emerged that Apple is readying internally designed chips based on Arm blueprints to replace the Intel silicon. A March report from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, a noted Apple watcher, claimed that the company stands to reduce its processor costs by 40% to 60% if it switches to Arm.

Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights & Strategy told SiliconANGLE that the move carries risks for Apple. “It’s a risky and expensive move for Apple and right now I’m scratching my head on why Apple would do this,” he said.. There’s no clear benefit for developers or for users and it appears Apple is trying to boost profits.”

The challenge, he said, is that “all things equal, Apple’s new CPUs would need to outperform Intel’s to translate the X86 (Intel/AMD) world to Arm.” Moreover, Apple would need to supplement Arm technology with graphics processing unit and neural processing unit chips to boost performance. “To get a strategic benefit, Apple needs developers to rewrite applications to take advantage of its GPUs and NPUs, which is a heavy lift,” he said.

Apple is said to have made some progress toward matching the speed of Intel chips. Bloomberg reported today that tests conducted by the company have shown its Arm-powered Macs to provide “sizable improvements” in graphics and artificial intelligence performance over their Intel-powered counterparts. However, there are no details on what kind of performance the machines may provide for more CPU-heavy applications.

Previous leaks have helped fill in some of the blank spots about Apple’s Arm Mac chips. The company is reportedly readying at least three different processors, all systems-on-chip, that will use the same architecture as the next iPhone’s processor and will be fabricated by semiconductor manufacturer TSMC Ltd. using a five-nanometer process. The first of the processors is expected to feature 12 cores.

Apple reportedly isn’t planning to launch the new Macs until 2021. The advantage of announcing them at WWDC this month would be that it would give Mac developers more time to rewrite their applications for the Arm architecture.

Apple’s announcement of the new Macs, when it happens, will be a major win for longtime partner Arm, whose chip blueprints are already used by the iPhone maker in its mobile devices. Processors based on Arm’s designs power billions of devices worldwide but have had limited adoption in the personal computer market so far. Apple’s endorsement will represent a high-profile vote of confidence for the British chip designer.   

Arm provided a rare update on its plans for the personal computer market in 2018, with the company reportedly setting a goal of capturing at least 10% of the PC market by 2022 or 2023. The tie-up with Apple, whose Macs happen to represent about 10% of the PC market, puts Arm on a path to meeting that goal. 

Other computer makers are also starting to warm up to using the British firm’s designs in their machines. Lenovo Group Ltd. introduced its first Arm-based Windows laptop earlier this year, while Microsoft Corp. sells an Arm version of the Surface Pro X two-in-one laptop.

New Mac chips won’t be the only item on the agenda at Apple’s WWDC event this month. The company is also expected to introduce the latest version of macOS, as well as a new iOS release with an augmented reality assistant. 

Photo: Apple