Apple to ditch Intel chips and create its own from 2020

Apple is planning to drop its long-standing chip supplier Intel and develop its own processors from 2020, a report has found.

Insiders at the company told Bloomberg the strategy, codenamed Kalamata, will help all of Apple’s devices, including iPhones and Mac computers, “work more similarly and seamlessly together”.

While the project is “still in the early developmental stages”, Kalamata has been approved by Apple executives and is expected to “result in a multi-step transition”, the news site says.

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According to The Verge, the changeover is expected to begin with Apple’s less power-intensive computers, such as the 12ins MacBook.

However, Intel’s processors will “almost certainly remain” in Apple’s range-topping devices, including the iMac Pro and upcoming Mac Pro, until the tech giant can manufacturer its own chips that are powerful enough for “professional Mac users”.

The Cupertino-based company already produces its own A-series processors in-house for portable devices such as the iPhone and iPad range, using architecture licensed from British firm ARM, The Guardian reports.

Apple’s line-up of desktop and laptop computers has been powered by Intel chips since 2005, the newspaper adds, following an 11-year partnership with IBM and its PowerPC hardware.

Meanwhile, Michael McConnell, an analyst a Keybanc, told Fortune the move away from Apple should be “manageable” for Intel.

Apple’s Mac computers accounted for less than 6% of Intel’s expected $65bn (£45bn) sales revenue this year, which is around $4bn (£2.8bn).