Apple released the M1 chip last year with a set of Mac computers, it is the first in-house designed chip for the Mac. Of course, the M1 is just the beginning and there are a lot of new chips in the pipeline for the Mac. Noted Apple analysts like Ming-Chi Kuo of TF-International Securities and Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman have reported that Apple is set to release new Mac laptops with M1X chip in the upcoming few months.
The M1X chip – the naming scheme as purported by leaksters and analysts alike – is set to showcase high performance levels of in-house Apple designed chips. The M1 chip which was released last year was reportedly designed just for the basic and medium performance level machines. At the moment, only the MacBook Air, the 13” base model MacBook Pro, the Mac mini, and the new 24” iMac use the M1 chip.
No Intel Macs to be sold from 2022
There are many Mac computers from Apple that continue to use Intel chips, such as the high end model of the 13” MacBook Pro, the 16” MacBook Pro, the Mac Pro, and the iMac models. Apple has not yet updated all Mac computers to include its own silicon. However, the company announced at WWDC 2020 that the plan is to transition the entire Mac range to Apple Silicon in two years.
Apple is expected to finish the transition to its own silicon for the Mac by WWDC 2022, as said by Apple CEO Tim Cook at the keynote of WWDC 2020. The company is also reportedly working on a top-tier configuration chip for the Mac Pro – its powerful desktop grade machine. It is unclear whether the company will stick to the current design of the Mac Pro or release an all new Mac Pro with a smaller body as the M-series chips do not generate significant heat, as compared to Intel counterparts.