Yes, if the rumors are to be believed and boy, is it going to be a massive blow for Intel! A5 is certainly going places, after gracing
iPad2, the processor is also rumored to go ahead and power iPhone 5 or iPhone 4S or whatever iPhone is going to come out this year. Now, a Japanese website is claiming that Apple is carrying out a series of tests for checking the compatibility of the processor with its ultra thin notebook Air. The website goes on to claims that the tests have yielded better than expected results.
MacBook Air is likely to get a makeover real soon. It may be as early as next month. There were rumors that the new book may come with Intel's Sandy Bridge mobile processor, but the new speculations about A5 have taken the things in a whole new direction. Though, most of the industry experts seem to concur that it is too late for Apple to incorporate A5 into Air since the architecture for this chip is completely different from Intel chip it is currently using. So, we may not get to see the upcoming MacBook Air outfitted with A5, but down the road this rumor may turn into reality.
However, new MacBook Air is expected to come with Thunderbolt technology. A5 may be a good fit for iPad, but the processor is decidedly less powerful than Intel Sandy Bridge, so it is hard to come up with a reason for Apple to downgrade. However, Anand Shimpi of Anandtech thinks Apple might want to change the processors, but it is not likely to happen before the introduction of A6 chip. He also pointed that ARM architecture is gaining recognition while Intel is rolling down the slippery road. And in any case, how would you like iOS running on MacBook Air?
One thought on “MacBook Air to Go iPad 2' Way with A5 Processor?”
Putting an A5 in the MacBook air means that Apple will need a version of OS X that runs on ARM not Intel. All the applications will need to be re-compiled and re-released (including Apple applications like iMovie and iPhoto and the thousands upon thousands of 3rd party apps).
This is of course possible as Apple have done it before when it switched from the PowerPC to Intel. However this doubles the work for Apple, needing to support two architectures. They have only just shaken off the PowerPC legacy and I *doubt* they want to start again with a second architecture for OS X.
The reason Microsoft are supporting ARM for Windows 8 is that Microsoft have so far failed to significantly penetrate the mobile market (means smart-phones and tablets). Whereas Apple have succeeded in not just penetrating these markets, but actually defining the markets.
They don’t need to ship OS X on ARM as they already have a successful ARM OS in iOS.