Articles containing 'arm' tags


Apple's CPU History

A few years ago, Apple did something very significant: they launched their line of CPUs that power their Macs. Because instead of being like other PC manufacturers that rely on Intel, Windows, Nvidia, et al to build the final product, Apple has vertical integration in their desktops and laptops. But this move has been a long time coming for Apple. We review Apple’s history of CPU usage to reveal that Apple carving its own path is the most logical path for Apple.

Microsoft ARM Efforts

Microsoft is a global software company that found its fortune in making operating systems and productivity software. Of course later it branched out into gaming and cloud computing, but there is no doubt that Microsoft’s most famous products are Windows and Office. And for the longest time, it supported only a single kind of hardware, X86 primarily made by Intel. Such a strong symbiotic relationship that they had, they have an unofficial name: Wintel.

ARM vs RISC-V

Since 2007, a different kind of computer chip has taken the world by storm. What happened in 2007, was the launch of the first iPhone by Steve Jobs where he unveiled a new iPod, a new internet device and a telecommunication device. Since then, Google jumped on the bandwagon by sponsoring the development of the Android OS which made 2010s the Age of the Smartphone. With the rise of the smartphone, the chip that powers it also rose to prominence.

Why Apple Moved to ARM

The reason why Apple moved from Intel to Apple Silicon is the same reason why Apple left Power PC for Intel back in 2005. Let me count the ways. Performance factor The Apple A12X is now quite as powerful as most notebooks in the market. It’s amazing that you can edit a few streams of 4K video on fanless thin tablet. So performance per watt on the A12 is much more than on Intel chips.