Apple Silicon MacBooks will be the laptops that iPads were never supposed to be
Apple ran TV commercials telling people the next computer wouldn't be a computer. The intrigue of that paradox from a marketing perspective was that the iPad changed notions of what a computer was. But the statement could also be taken literally. After all, if Apple was changing the landscape of iPads, shouldn't it really change the iPad in landscape, moving the location of that front-facing camera to fix the sidelong glance in video chats? Should it not banish all apps that won't auto-rotate when a keyboard is in use? Create some universal way to use iPhone apps when in landscape mode! Offer its own take on a Brydge-like hinged keyboard for better stability? Such moves would betray what made the iPad such a hit at its debut -- mobility, simplicity, optimized software, and, yes, affordability, at least at the entry-level. And portrait-only apps were a fact of that life. When Apple touted the iPad's advantages in education versus Chromebooks in Chicago a few years back, it highlighted the camera's augmented reality features. In contrast, few laptops even have rear cameras. When Apple introduced its Magic Keyboard, it didn't allow for portrait orientation (as did the first iPad keyboard dock), but it did provide a quick way to detach and use the iPad off of the desk.
But now it has become clear that there is another reason not to make the iPad sacrifice its portrait-focused features for the deskbound who have long prized its expanded app library and long battery life. For that seems to be exactly what Apple Silicon Macs will offer. With a keyboard connected to a landscape display capped by a front-facing webcam, iPad apps that support multitasking will run in resizable windows on the Mac. (iPhone apps will run in a fixed-size window). Finally, those who prefer the classic clamshell form factor will be able to tap into much of what they have found alluring in the iPad.
As I wrote back in July, though, the key remaining question is at what cost? An oft-neglected point about Apple's iPad line is the range of price points and feature sets it offers. From the $329 baseline iPad to a LIDAR and LTE-equipped 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard topping out a bit over $1,700, iPads accommodate a far wider range of budgets than today's MacBooks. How much, if any, of Apple's savings from Intel's profit margin will it pass on to customers? Launching with a price point below $500 is unlikely, but even a move below $700 would be a huge game-changer for a MacBook, especially for one that could answer many of the needs for those who have long had iPad envy.
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In education, Apple must augment the reality of the cheap notebook
In 2012, Apple tried to position iPads as replacing textbooks. Last year, Microsoft tried to position laptops as replacing Chromebooks. Now, Apple needs to hook educators on the power of future-looking tech such as coding and augmented reality.
Beyond the benchmarks: How Apple Silicon Macs could change the game
Apple is set to offer breakthrough performance with Macs based on its own silicon. But the move to ARM architecture offers other variables that could make for big differences in adoption and usage.
Apple Silicon MacBook prices
Apple's pricing plans for the ARM MacBooks may have just leaked out, and given us lower prices than we expected. In tweets from Apple leaker @Komiya_kj we found out that we might be getting a $799 ARM MacBook (arguably replacing the $999 MacBook Air) and a $1,099 13-inch MacBook Pro, which would be drops of $200 for each. That MacBook may not be a new MacBook Air, but instead an update to the 12-inch MacBook that doesn't even show up on Apple.com.
The price drop may be explained by Apple's ability to offer its Apple Silicon-based devices at lower prices, since it's manufacturing them for itself, and not buying them from Intel.
This could give Apple the ability to price any ARM MacBooks lower than it did before. Historically, Apple's never felt a need to compete in the cheap sections at Amazon and Best Buy, so we don't expect a huge drop. But since Apple Silicon is a change from Intel chips, and some compatibility issues may arise (no matter how good Rosetta 2 is), such a price drop would help sweeten the deal.
Apple Silicon performance
New benchmarks show that the A12Z-based Apple Silicon test kit for developers thrives on Geekbench natively, with a multi-core score of 4,555 and a single-core score of 1,098, which put it on par with the iPad Pro.
Apple claimed that Macs with Apple Silicon will stand up against desktops and laptops because they can provide higher performance with lower power consumption. This makes them very appealing for laptops, where battery size often hurts portability.
We're all wondering, though, how will apps run on day 1, when this first Apple Silicon Mac releases this year. ARM Macs running on Apple Silicon in 2020 seemed unlikely before this past week, as developers will want time to translate their apps from the Intel/x86 structure to the Apple Silicon/ARM code. Fortunately, Apple's also got a weapon in their back pocket that allows them to release Macs before everyone's caught up.
Apple's done this all before, moving from PowerPC to Intel, so for its move from Intel to Apple Silicon, it's announced Rosetta 2, the ARM-emulation technology that succeeds Rosetta, which was used to let PowerPC apps run on Intel Macs.
In a pre-taped demo at WWDC 2020, Apple showed that the powerful and demanding Maya 3D rendering tool and Shadow of the Tomb Raider can well run on Rosetta 2. We've talked to developers worried about Maya on ARM and how games will work under emulation, so this is the kind of thing that needs to be seen in person to be truly believed.
Remember the Microsoft Surface Pro X? That ARM processor powered laptop suffered from incompatibility issues. If Apple wants to replace Intel smoothly, it can't have such concerns.
Apple Silicon Macs will also run other platforms. At WWDC 2020, we saw that Linux and Docker will run in windowed modes on these Macs, and Apple claims near-native performance.
iPhone and iPad apps will also run on macOS in the Apple Silicon future. You'll be able to download these apps directly from the App Store and run them on the desktop. Apple provided a couple of examples in Monument Valley 2 and the Calm app.
Apple Silicon MacBook specs
A new leak, again from @komiya_kj, has given us reason to think that one of the ARM MacBooks with Apple Silicon chips will be a 12-inch MacBook that has the same 4380mAh battery as the 13-inch MacBook Air.
This makes us think that either Apple is giving the MacBook Air a significant redesign and slimming down — which would make sense alongside the rumored 14-inch MacBook Pro — or that it's bringing back the 12-inch MacBook that's long since been essentially forgotten about. That should net the ARM MacBook a serious battery life leap, as the MacBook Air lasted 9 hours 31 minutes on our web surfing battery test, running on less power efficient Intel processors.
Apple Silicon chips
Apple didn't break down the names of the Apple Silicon chips it will use in upcoming Apple, but it revealed that the Developer Transition Kit will feature the same A12Z system-on-chip seen in the iPad Pro 2020. A report from Bloomberg stated the first Apple Silicon chips for Macs will have at least 12 cores: 8 high-performance cores and at least 4 energy efficient cores.
Considering that Apple has updated its A-Series ARM processors on the iPhone on an annual basis, we expect that an A14 chip will succeed 2019's A13 processors used in the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The A14 processor is also expected to be used in the iPhone 12. This means we should expect strong performance from the early Apple Silicon Macs, as the A13 Bionic chips in the 2019 iPhones are the fastest phone processors around, and the A12Z Bionic chip in the iPad Pro keeps pace with top-tier laptops.
At WWDC 2020, we saw a list of all of the major features and components of Apple Silicon system-on-chip technology. Those start with high-performance CPU cores and include high-efficiency DRAM memory, high-performance GPU and — of course — Apple's Secure Enclave technology seen across all Macs. Apple also cited "advanced power management" and a "low-power design" that will help for greater efficiency.
Apple Silicon MacBooks outlook
Apple's decision to move to Apple Silicon isn't just motivated by an improved user experience, as a greater control of its processor supply chain will likely reduce Apple's own costs. We just hope that this doesn't come at a cost to how the Mac works.
Intel Macs aren't going away today, though. Tim Cook also noted at WWDC that 2020 will see Apple release Intel processor-powered Macs. Apple prognosticator Ming-Chi Kuo tipped us off to expect the iMac and MacBook Pro to be the first Apple Silicon-powered Macs.
Tim Cook rightly positioned Apple Silicon as one of the biggest moves in the Mac's history — alongside switches to PowerPC and Intel processors, and the launch of OS X — and we're looking forward to see all the major ways this will change the Mac as we know it.
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