Intel VP Says No Chance Of Apple Using ARM Processors In MacBook Laptops

Tweet

There had been some speculation that Apple would be moving to ARM-based processors for their MacBook series of laptops. The speculated was grounded in the fact that Apple has been designing their own ARM processors, the Apple A4 and A5, which are being manufactured by Samsung. But, Intel, who held their investor conference this week in Santa Clara, denounced those rumors.

Talking to Reuters, Intel VP Tom Kilroy scoffed at the idea of Apple using ARM processors in their laptops. Kilroy said:

We work very closely with them and we’re constantly looking down the road at what we can be doing relative to future products. I’d go as far as to say Apple helps shape our roadmap. Apple — they push us hard.

Kilroy went on to mention that the current MacBook Pros, which are using the next-generation Core i7 processors (Sandy Bridge) have performance that blows away anything you’d find from an ARM processor. Kilroy, however, wouldn’t tell Reuters if Apple and Intel have secured a contract that would see Apple forced to use Intel processors in the MacBook family of laptops for a certain length of time. Kilroy said such a disclosure would be up to Apple.

It would seem that the computer industry as a whole is considering a transition to ARM processors, away from the dominant position that Intel’s x86 architecture has held for years. Microsoft is coming out with an ARM compatible version of Windows 8, NVIDIA’s Project Denver will make ARM desktop processors, and Google’s Chromebooks will be powered by ARM processors.

ARM proponents will point to those things as signs of Intel’s demise, but it’s hard to argue with the fact that Intel sells 80% of PC processors currently. And, if you include AMD (who uses processors based on Intel’s x86 architecture), they likely have a virtual monopoly on laptop and desktop computers. ARM has a long way to go before they dethrone Intel from anything.

Hit the source link for the Reuters article in question.