Apple is poised to replace the existing Intel processor chipsets with ARM-based chips for the forthcoming Mac hardware including MacBooks as evident in the leaked macOS Sierra kernel code. A Dutch outlet called 'TechTastic.nl' has discovered several code strings in the Sierra kernel that hint at the addition of support for ARM technology from the internally Apple-coded Hurricane family.
The existing ARM blueprints have no reference to Hurricane CPU and hence the codename is created internally by Apple. Consequently, the A10 Fusion processor will be the first ARM-compatible mobile chip being used on Macs and MacBooks.
The debut of mobile-processor chipsets on desktop computers was being planned way back in 2012, when Bloomberg first reported this innovative idea of Apple to use cross-platform hardware from mobile to desktops and laptops.
Meanwhile, head of the Mac division Jean-Louis Gassee has hinted that the ARM-based Desktops would debut in 2017.
"Apple's drive to own all layers of the stack continues unabated years after Steve's passing," he wrote.
"As a recent example, Apple created its own Swift programming language that complements its Xcode IDE and Clang/LLVM compiler infrastructure."
ARM-derived SoC (System on a Chip) designs are known to triumph over Intel's x86 devices due to their low manufacturing cost, better power dissipation and easier integration across cross-platform hardware like desktops and portables.
[Source: TechTastic.nl (Google Translate)]
