Intel shares dropped sharply after a news report indicated Apple is planning to abandon Intel¡¯s chips for its Mac computers and start rolling out their own home-grown processors by 2020.
Intel shares plummeted 9 percent, its worst since January 2016, after inside sources confirmed the news to Bloomberg. Apple has so far declined to make a statement, and Intel has brushed off the information as a rumour.
Kalamata is the code name for Apple¡¯s chip-building initiative, and its goal is supposedly to replace the Intel processors in the Mac lineup beginning 2020. Eventually, the idea is to have the processors in Macs, iPads, and iPhones working similarly and seamlessly together. The rest of Apple¡¯s devices already run on in-house designed processors
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According to Bloomberg, Apple¡¯s business provides Intel with 5 percent of its annual revenue, meaning this move is a major blow to the chip manufacturer. For Apple, however, it means you might be seeing newer Macs more often. After all, the company won¡¯t have to wait for new processors coming out of Intel¡¯s program to revamp its systems. For the first time, Apple will be able to control the timelines and prices of its Macs.
In fact, the move would even make Apple the only major PC manufacturer to use its own processors. Others like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Asus, all use Intel chips.
If this rumoured news indeed turns out to be true, Intel becomes the second company that Apple's reportedly cutting ties with and develop its own chips and processors. The other company Apple's dropping from future iPhones is Qualcomm --?who had previously claimed that Apple violated six of its patents related to improving smartphone battery life.