It was quite an exciting thing when Apple made the transition from the PowerPC machine architecture to the Intel x86 architecture. This transition was not smooth, but it looks like Apple will be making another major transition like this before the end of the decade.
Apple is planning to use its own chips in Mac computers as early as 2020, replacing processors from Intel. Apple already builds its own processors for iOS devices and some of the newer ones like the A11 Bionic and A10 Fusion for reached performance levels of entry-level x86 desktop processors.
It is only a matter of time before Apple is able to build their own SoCs for Macs, and not just desktops, but Mac Pro Workstations, MacBook, Macbook Air, and Macbook Pro devices as well.
This change is part of the initiative, code named Kalamata, which is part of a larger strategy by Apple to make all of their devices (Macs, iPhones, iPads) work more similarly and seamlessly together. The expected timeline is around 2020 and these chips will be based on the ARM machine architecture.
This shift will be a major blow to Intel, who receives about 5% of its annual revenue from Apple according to Bloomberg. Intel shares dropped as much as 9.2 percent when this news hit, the biggest intraday drop in more than 2 years for the company.
