Apple is reportedly looking to replace Intel processors in its laptops and the place of pride may to ARM-based CPUs. If true, the
rumor will dealt a yet another blow to once-mighty Intel, which is already playing a lost battle in smartphone and tablet market.
On the other hand, Apple is already having an enduring affair with ARM, which graces several of its products such as iPhone, iPods and iPads. While these products came with ARM architecture right from the beginning, Apple TV was a subsequent convert. First generation Apple TV came with 'Intel Inside' but its later avatar Apple TV 2 had ARM based A4. However, Apple TV and fully fledged laptops are two completely different products. So, would ARM be able to deliver the goods.
ARM may get in but it does not mean that Intel and Apple are breaking it off altogether. Apple is about to launch its new Sandy Bridge based iMac line up. However, present is no guarantee for future as well and it becomes even more unpredictable when ARM based 64-bit chip are scheduled to arrive on the scene some time in 2013.
ARM based chips are being produced by several companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm Samsung and Texas Instruments. Though, it is primarily Nvidia which is reported to take initiative in the process of transitioning the architecture to the PC. But, there is no such news that Apple would be using Nvidia chips. It may very well choose to develop chips in-house.
However, the point to ponder about is that why Apple would want to use ARM chips in its laptops since ARM chips have yet to reach the performance level of Intel. Apple currently uses ARM chips for its iOS products, so is Apple looking to merge iOS with OS X with uniform chip structure for all its devices. Looks like, we will have to wait for some time to know what exactly Apple is up to?