After a 15-year long partnership with Intel, Apple is officially transitioning the Mac to its in-house Silicon chips. The transition to Apple Silicon is one of the biggest leaps for the Mac. "Today we are announcing our transition to Apple Silicon, making this a historic day for the Mac," Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the firm’s first ever virtual-only World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC).

For the past 15 years, Apple has been using Intel chips to power its computers and Macs. However, it has been building its A-Series arm-based processors for iPhones and iPads. With this move, Apple has taken another step towards wanting to have a greater control on how it builds and develops products.

In terms of timelines, the tech giant plans to ship the first Mac with Apple Silicon by the end of the year and is hoping to complete the transition in about two years.

While Apple will continue to support and release new versions of macOS for its Intel-based Macs, this transition will also establish a common architecture across all Apple products, which is good news for Apple’s developer community. They can now write and optimise their apps for the entire ecosystem.

At WWDC20, Apple also introduced macOS Big Sur. This new release includes technologies to ensure a smooth and seamless transition to Apple Silicon.

Developers can make their iOS and iPadOS apps Mac-ready without any modifications. Apple claims that most developers will be able to get their apps running in a matter of days.

Apple has clearly managed to port all its apps to the new ARM-based chips, from its own apps like Final Cut Pro and to even Microsoft and Adobe’s apps that are all set to make the switch.

Developers will be able to easily create a single app for both the new Macs with Apple Silicon, while still supporting Intel-based Macs.

As for users, they continue to ride on the power and efficiency of Mac but longer battery life and seamless experience between all Apple products.

First Published:Jun 23, 2020 7:53 AM IST