January 2022 • Macworld 23maybe by 2023. Fans of PCs running
AMD and Intel processors cling to
the fact that while the new MacBook
Pros might be the fastest laptops
around – especially if you unplug
them from the wall – at least there
are still more powerful computers on
the desktop. (Let’s see what happens
when Apple releases its Apple
silicon-based Mac Pro.)
The truth is, Apple caught the
tech world flat-footed. They’re all
scrambling to catch up. Apple was
already more than a year ahead
of Qualcomm, every single year,
in terms of smartphone processor
performance. Now it’s shown that
it can extend that performance to
the Mac–and in the process, use
all the tricks it used to surpass
Qualcomm to blow past Intel, too.
But rest assured, they all know
now. Qualcomm’s next-generation
processor (which might challenge
the M series in a couple of years)
will be designed by a company
founded by Apple silicon engineers
which was recently bought by
Qualcomm. Intel talks about having
to beat Apple at its own game – or,
failing that, convince Apple to use
Intel’s factories to build Apple-
designed chips.
The game continues. The future
isn’t guaranteed. But Apple has the
drop on the competition, and this past
year has shown that everything we
thought Apple’s chips might be able
to do, they can do.THE TRANSITION
IS HALF OVER
As with the transition from PowerPC
to Intel, Apple’s first steps from Intel
to Apple silicon were conservative.
The MacBook Air, Mac mini and 13in
MacBook Pro were identical on the
outside, but transformed on the
inside. Then came the next step,
with new designs (the iMac andThe system on a chip that Apple puts in the
Mac Pro will be an important indicator of
the capabilities of Apple silicon.