Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is planning to replace Intel’s (NASDAQ: INTC) processors in Macs with the company’s own chips from as early as 2020.
In a big move that will affect both companies, Apple is reportedly working on new chip designs that will be used in laptops starting with the 12-inch MacBook.
The news was reported by Bloomberg, saying that the development of plans is still “in early developmental stages”.
News of the group’s plans resulted in Intel taking a hit, with share prices dropping six percent over Monday.
The switch in chips is not one taken lightly and will require lots of work from Apple. Apple developers will need to fully rewrite many of the software programs, as well as the company shipping an emulator that could run older code at reduced speeds.
Shannon Cross, an analyst at Cross Research, said of the change: “We think that Apple is looking at ways to further integrate their hardware and software platforms, and they’ve clearly made some moves in this space, trying to integrate iOS and macOS.”
“It makes sense that they’re going in this direction. If you look at incremental R&D spend, it’s gone into ways to try to vertically integrate their components so they can add more functionality for competitive differentiation.”
The tech giant’s new chips will be made with the hope to allow all of Apple’s devices to work together “seamlessly”.
