According to TechRadar, the TrendForce study shows that the first commercial Mac with Apple processors will be based on the company’s upcoming Bionic A14X chip. This is also the chip used on the next-generation iPad Pro.
Apple currently provides Mac Mini software developers with the A12Z Bionic application processor, which is available on the latest iPad Pro tablet. Therefore it makes perfect sense to use the next-generation iPad chip on a PC for a cheap desk or laptop.
Apple plans to ship the first Macs based on its own processors later this year and complete the entire transition in about two years. Apple’s upcoming A14 and A14X processors will be manufactured using a 5nm process technology from TSMC, promising to provide higher clock speeds and performance still similar to conventional computers. And according to TrendForce, by the end of 2021, Apple is expected to introduce a Mac-specific chip.
Analysts believe that a 5 nm chip for Mac will cost Apple less than $ 100 to produce, a sharp drop from $ 200 to $ 300 that Apple has to pay for Intel processors.
However, TrendForce does not include R&D costs for the processor. Because Apple plans to move all its computers to self-designed processors, the company will have to develop a comprehensive CPU line with different configurations, which will certainly affect R&D spending.