Apple to ditch IBM, switch to Intel chips
By Stephen Shankland
c|net

Apple Computer plans to announce Monday that it's scrapping its partnership with IBM and switching its computers to Intel's microprocessors, CNET News.com has learned.

Apple has used IBM's PowerPC processors since 1994, but will begin a phased transition to Intel's chips, sources familiar with the situation said. Apple plans to move lower-end computers such as the Mac Mini to Intel chips in mid-2006 and higher-end models such as the Power Mac in mid-2007, sources said.

The announcement is expected Monday at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco, at which Chief Executive Steve Jobs is giving the keynote speech. The conference would be an appropriate venue: Changing the chips would require programmers to rewrite their software to take full advantage of the new processor.

IBM, Intel and Apple declined to comment for this story.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Apple was considering switching to Intel, but many analysts were skeptical citing the difficulty and risk to Apple.

That skepticism remains. "If they actually do that, I will be surprised, amazed and concerned," said Insight 64 analyst Nathan Brookwood. "I don't know that Apple's market share can survive another architecture shift. Every time they do this, they lose more customers" and more software partners, he said.

Apple successfully navigated a switch in the 1990s from Motorola's 680x0 line of processors to the Power line jointly made by Motorola and IBM. That switch also required software to be revamped to take advantage of the new processors' performance, but emulation software permitted older programs to run on the new machines. (Motorola spinoff Freescale currently makes PowerPC processors for Apple notebooks and the Mac Mini.)

The relationship between Apple and IBM has been rocky at times. Apple openly criticized IBM for chip delivery problems, though Big Blue said it fixed the issue. More recent concerns, which helped spur the Intel deal, included tension between Apple's desire for a wide variety of PowerPC processors and IBM's concerns about the profitability of a low-volume business, according to one source familiar with the partnership.

Over the years, Apple has discussed potential deals with Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, chipmaker representatives have said.

One advantage Apple has this time: The open-source FreeBSD operating system, of which Mac OS X is a variant, already runs on x86 chips such as Intel's Pentium. And Jobs has said Mac OS X could easily run on x86 chips.

The move also raises questions about Apple's future computer strategy. One basic choice it has in the Intel-based PC realm is whether to permit its Mac OS X operating system to run on any company's computer or only its own.

IBM loses cachet with the end of the Apple partnership, but it can take consolation in that it's designing and manufacturing the Power family processors for future gaming consoles from Microsoft, Sony and Ninendo, said Clay Ryder, a Sageza Group analyst.

"I would think in the sheer volume, all the stuff they're doing with the game consoles would be bigger. But anytime you lose a high-profile customer, that hurts in ways that are not quantifiable but that still hurt," Ryder said.

Indeed, IBM has a "Power Everywhere" marketing campaign to tout the wide use of its Power processors. The chips show up in everything from networking equipment to IBM servers to the most powerful supercomputer, Blue Gene/L.

Intel dominates the PC processor business, with an 81.7 percent market share in the first quarter of 2005, compared with 16.9 percent for Advanced Micro Devices, according to Dean McCarron of Mercury Research. Those numbers do not include PowerPC processors. However, Apple has roughly 1.8 percent of the worldwide PC market, he added.

Apple shipped 1.07 million PCs in the first quarter, and its move to Intel would likely bump up the chipmaker's shipments by a corresponding amount, McCarron added.

CNET News.com's Michael Kanellos and Richard Shim contributed to this report.

Copyright ©1995-2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

I've always kind of wondered if Apple's "nuclear option" was to "accidently" let loose a version of OS X that would run on x86 hardware. They could claim "that's ours, don't use it, and if you do use it we will not support any issues you have." All the while watching it run loose in the x86 universe while still selling Macs. Na, just a wild thought.

Well then, we'll FINALLY get to see the sequel to Pirates of Silicon Valley !
Man, was Steve Jobs pissed in that film! Anthony Michael Hall as a convincing Bill Gates.....What a creep! He deserves to go down!

On a side note, anybody ever notice how RX looks eerily like Steve Wozniak?

I would have liked to have been a flea on the wall when Jobs and Gates struck the deal for Microsoft to purchase, what was it, something like 100 million dollars of Apple stock and agree to produce Office for at least five years. You remember how it was played in the press "Microsoft saves Apple." BS. Apple had a couple billion in cash in the bank at the time. Pure in simple it was green-mail for Apple dropping the patent infringement lawsuit for the Quicktime code that Microsoft stole and put in their media player. I'm starting to wonder if Jobs also agreed to keep it's OS off of x86 gear until at least 2006. I would think the x86 crowd would like an elegant alternative to Windows minus the viruses. Gates probable thought he could get something akin to his dreams of what Longhorn was supposed to be out way before then. Yuk, yuk. Monday may bring lots more info and rumors.

Remember when Steve Jobs used to play TT? Man that guy hated campers.

^How bout....when are you going to stop yer yapping and let me me beta-test TT2?

I'm emailing Joe on Monday. This has gone on long enough.

And yes, Flea.......the tides are a turning.

No, no Jangles. I think it should be Oregon boys first to do the beta-testing.

BTW, I remember when you used to play TT laggy. Darn camper :)

Last edited: Sunday, June 05, 2005 at 12:35:45 AM

Wait, is there gonna be a TT2??? If so, may I please be a beta tester....ok, that was a stupid question since I don't knwo anything about it, but who do I talk to, inform me.

@jangles
Steve Jobs loved that movie so much he even hired the actor to speak at his conference.
On Another note RX looks like Tom Hanks in that movie Castaway...
Intel chips in Macs!
Rumors,Rumor,Rumors

Last edited: Sunday, June 05, 2005 at 11:56:09 AM

One thing to keep in mind about all the rumors and info coming out about this supposed switch to intel chips, is that in every case I know of, and I've read a bunch of them, they always say "Intel chips". This doesn't necessarily mean x86 architecture. Intel makes a whole lotta chips folks, so there is no solid evidence, yet, that it will be on x86. In fact, it's quite possible that Intel is getting into the PowerPC game. It's practically a fact that they've been eyeing the RISC chip business, as they are beginning to recognize that the CISC x86 line is losing some steam.
Apple, as part of the AIM alliance (Apple, IBM, Motorola) has just as much right to the technology behind PPC chips as the other companies do. In fact, unless you are an insider, we have no idea about the specifics of the contracts held between Apple and the other 2 companies. Perhaps there is something that states that Apple can take the tech and work with another company in the event that IBM and Moto don't live up to their part of the bargain. We know what happened in Moto's case. And it looks like IBM is beginning to drop the ball too. So perhaps Steve said "enough is enough" and decided to talk with Intel about producing a PowerPC variant for them. I'm pretty certain Intel would be interested, especially seeing how they lost both MS's and Sony's business with the next gen Xbox and PS3 game consoles. Intel must be seriously considering getting into the PPC end of business and a deal with Apple would be a perfect win-win scenario for both parties. Apple gets a huge chip supplier with a ton of resources at their disposal to finally get them to the processor speed they have desired, and Intel gets a wealth of info on PowerPC to get into that part of the market.

Besides, if you think about it, a switch to x86 would mean yet another transition for the Mac faithful, not to mention all the developers having to recompile their apps for another platform switch. We JUST got through the OS 9 to OS X transition a little over a year ago. For apple to turn around and ask developers to do it all over again would be kind of suicidal. Though I have no doubt Apple already has a version of OSX running on x86 in their labs. This would be the rumored "Marklar" project that has been speculated about for years now.

Then there's backwards compatibility while the transitions occurs. Would Apple have to develop and emulator for old Mac OS X apps to run on the new x86 based hardware? Something that will emulate a PPC chip? We all know how much emulation sucks in general. I don't see that as a good situation.

In the end, I could be totally wrong. Maybe they will switch to x86. I kind of hope not, since I'm a bit concerned about how well the Mac platform will weather another transition. I don't know that Apple can afford to lose more user base and developers.

But I'll guess we'll know for sure tomorrow at the WWDC.

Apple should go AMD. :)

How about apple takes the powerpc chip and starts developing it own?

Then again this could be good for their sales, as if this works a Dell running OSXI on intel chips may well be in the near future, taking a chunk out of Microsoft...

They are NOT rumours, last week it was spreading round the net, so they were rumours but this is official !!

Any of us who has used a Mac more than ten minutes are fairly used to these Apple going to x86 rumors. None of them really held any water. The AIM alliance seems to have the future roadmap of PPC mapped out better than Intel's x86 architecture. I'm certainly no expert in this though. I'm amazed that Intel has been able to string the x86 along as far as it has. I keep expecting the next round of PC upgrades to include a nitrogen-drip cooling system.

That said, Intel has to be looking at the next jump and the consequence/cost to developers. You are right OM, Apple and it's developers have already went through two major changes, first to the PPC then to OS X. If Intel/MS force a jump to a new architecture on their developers and Apple changes to that architecture too then the dirty work falls on Intel/MS. Apple can wait for the hammer to fall and then start pumping out Mac's with the new chips once the programs are there. I'd say a majority of the important apps we use in the Mac camp already have a PC version running. If the few developers that write for Apple only continue to use Apple recommend coding perhaps it won't be a large struggle to convert to the new chip architecture for them either.

Like Tanky said, rumors, rumors, rumors.

Well after reading the business section, mouth dropped. So there will be Apples in 2006 with intel chips. I've used FreeBSD for a while on intel as well as my old DEC Alpha web site. With Jordan Hubbard working for them. I see no problems porting FreeBSD/OSX to any chip set. Since FreeBSD already exists. The work is already done, except for the commercial apps.

Well guys, it turns out to be 100% true after all. I almost can't believe it! I'm really shocked! Not only did Jobs announce that the Mac will be moving to Intel processors starting next year, but he also revealed the fabled Marklar OSX on Intel super secret project, right on stage using it!! What's next? The government admitting that they actually DID capture a crashed UFO at Roswell, and yes, they've been studying the underlying technology behind it all these years. I think a revelation like that would actually be LESS surprising to me than this.

I've never been the religious type, as most of you know. But if there were anything close to faith in my life, it's the faith I have in the Mac platform. I trust that Jobs knows what he's doing, and that this will be a boon for Apple and the Mac in the long run. I sincerely hope it does. It certainly appears they've done their homework on making this transition work, both for the end user and developers.

I guess we'll just have to see how this all turns out.
And I guess the Mhz myth has no weight anymore as of next year when these "Mactels" start shipping.

Is there a video of the keynote? I'd really love to see the new Mac in action, as OM described.

Why dont any of you trust/believe me! :S :(

Pedro, you reported a rumor—something somebody said to somebody else that informed somebody else that you read online.
Aye OM, Jobsy said they've had OSX compiled for intel for a bit, and had planned on doing this earlier.
Interesting news, but with a perspective, nothing really changes for us. Prices might go down a bit. The proposed speed advantages of PPC's RISC never happened, did they?

@Spunky, Its on the apple website (apple.com go figure)

And Pedro, I fully believe you. In fact this could be more of a move made by Intel than Apple. After all, these past couple of years Windows has been shipping on non-Intel computers such as ones made by AMD. If Intel wants to regain some of the market share, the obvious choice is to move towards a better OS than windows. I'm not very distressed by this, though, even though I am an avid Mac user, because the problems with "microsoft computers" (somewhat of an oxymoron in a way) stem from Microsoft. Intel makes very good machines with powerful processors, and I would enjoy using a mactel. Even then, if you read the CNN article, you get the sense that Mac left IBM because they could not sucesfully mass produce the PowerPC 970 (G5) chips fast enough, or develop the Powerbook G5 chip on time. If that is the reason, than Apple is merely letting Intel produce the same G5 chips (instead of putting OSX on a pentium 4!). OF COURSE that would let Intel peer into the secrets of the almighty G5, but thats another paragraph of my wasted time....

Jimmy, just because I asked an obvious question doesn't give you the right to make insinuating remarks at me.

Good commentary from mac game makers:
http://www.insidemacgames.com/features/view.php?ID=355
Poke?

^

Glad I kept that pirated version of XP Pro!

@Flea
The year 2006 might be a good year to upgrade our aging 800 Mhz iMacs. Then again the iMacs still look too cool to let go.

@Prey
Think we can get a volume discount if MonkeeMan and I join you in upgrading our iMacs. ;)

Apparently Apple is switching to Sun Chips.

Last edited: Monday, June 06, 2005 at 10:24:00 PM

Boooo apple yay pc! Where have you been laggy?

@PREY
You're reading my mind! I so close to shelling out for a new G5 and now this news. Looks like the rice-bowl will be around a bit longer. With an Intel Mac I'd keep a copy of Windows on an external drive just in case I need to rush it to the burn-barrel. I imagine the viri would make it expand just like a bad can of tuna...

WooHoo!! Lotsa more games for us Macers!!

This is not good news in my opinion. As a developer, I was supposed to release my newest game all across North America this Winter. Not likely now. I'm going to have to wait 'till late 2006 now so I can get a Universal version running. And after reading a new article on IMG, if I may quote...

Another quote:

CL,
Can you explain your logic a bit more?

So wait a minute...

For those of us planning to make the switch to Mac this summer, does this mean that in 2006 that any new software for macs wont be compatible with the old powerpc chips? Because I don't like the prospect of buying a new machine this year if that is the dilly-o.

No memphis... Apple will be releasing a peice of software called "rosetta" which will come pre-installed with the new Intel Macs in 2006... This software will be able to run all PowerPC software.. So backwards compatable.

And even if this software doesnt come out.. Apples New XCode v2.1 has a tutorial on how to make your game/software/application using the source code work with Intel and PowerPC chips

For more information please go to.. Www.apple.com and click the link for WWDC2005... The movie is an hour long but will show all of Apples future plans

@ Chilled Lizard : If you were at the WWDC2005 because your a dev then you will get a free copy of XCode v2.1. All you have to do is open your source code in XCode v2.1 it will then ask you which platforms you will like to make the software work in.... Check the PowerPC and Intel Boxes and then XCode will then compile your program to work under PowerPC and Intel Chips

Last edited: Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 7:21:32 AM

I was poking around on darwin and noticed the x86 iso images. I wounder how long those have been sitting?
http://developer.apple.com/darwin/

For 5 years.. The same as Intel XD

If youve bought a Mac in the last 5 years they have been installed with the hardware needed to install the intel chips :P

Sneaky Apple...