Announced at this year’s WWDC, Apple’s transition from Intel to ARM on MacOS not only needs new software but new hardware. While the software is currently running on developer machines around the world, consumers are expecting their first sight of ARM to be in the next generation of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops.
And it looks like there will be a disappointing delay.
Detail of the track pad on a 2019 MacBook Air laptop computer, taken on July 23, 2019. (Photo by ... [+]
Future Publishing via Getty ImagesThe report comes from noted Apple commentator Komiya_KJ on Twitter:
"My new source suggests that there is no October event at which Apple is to unveil Apple Silicon MacBooks and more”
While that does not rule out a November event, or even a ‘launch by press release’ during Q4, the consensus is that Tim Cook and his team will delay the release of the new hardware into 2021.
The simplest answer for the delay is ‘Covid-19’. Every manufacturer, not just in consumer electronics, is having to deal with delays in the supply chain. Google’s recent launch of the Pixel 4a has not only been delayed due to the impact, but the 4a portfolio has been rationalised to a single color and memory combination.
Apple itself is facing issues with the iPhone 12 and is expected to stagger the release of the handsets on top of pushing back the retail release date of the new handset family.
Disappointing as it may be the geekerati, it come as no surprise that the ARM-powered MacBooks will be running behind the no doubt carefully planned schedule that was in place at the start of the year. The change to ARM is more than simply popping out the Intel chip and replacing it with the presumptively named A14X Bionic. To take one example this will require a completely new logic board to be tooled, which in turn likely means a newly shaped battery (which has been certified in various countries).
This is also a release where the software is just as important as the hardware. While MacOS 11 Big Sur will be available across the Mac family, the family as it stands today is exclusively Intel. The new MacBooks will not only debut the ARM hardware, but also see Apple’s plans to smooth the transition from Intel machines and apps to ARM machines and apps.
Having a few more months to develop the OS in private (notwithstanding the developers who have been allocated the Developer Transition Kits of ARM-powered Mac Minis) will give the MacOS on ARM hardware the best possible start in the public eye.
The move to ARM will bring long-term benefits to Apple. A few months is not going to be the death knell of the project.
Now read why Apple’s ARM-powered MacBook is a massive challenge to Google…
The Link LonkAugust 12, 2020 at 06:16AM
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New MacBook Pro Leak Reveals Disappointing Decision - Forbes
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