Apple Transitioning Macs to Custom Chips With 'Incredible' Performance Starting Later This Year - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Transitioning Macs to Custom Chips With 'Incredible' Performance Starting Later This Year

by

Apple today confirmed its widely rumored plan to switch to custom processors for its Macs, promising "incredible" performance and features.

apple custom silicon mac
Building on its industry-leading A-series chips for iPhones and iPads, Apple wants Macs with its custom silicon to have the highest performance with lower power usage. Apple says the vast majority of Mac apps can be quickly updated to be "universal" with support for both Intel-based Macs and those with Apple's custom silicon.

Starting today, developers will be able to apply for a special Mac mini with an A12Z chip inside to help prepare their apps for Apple's custom silicon. This custom Mac mini will be running the macOS Big Sur beta and the latest version of Xcode.

Apple said that it expects its first Mac with custom silicon to launch by the end of 2020, and it expects to transition its entire lineup within the next two years.

Related Forum: Apple, Inc and Tech Industry

Popular Stories

TMRS 197 WWDC26 Recap Thumb 2

The MacRumors Show: Siri AI, Apple Intelligence in Apps, and More at WWDC 2026

Wednesday June 10, 2026 9:41 am PDT by
On this week's special episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the major announcements Apple unveiled at WWDC 2026, including Siri AI, new Apple Intelligence features in apps, and system-wide performance and design improvements. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple framed the keynote around three areas: platform improvements, Trust and Safety,...
Read Full Article • 22 comments
wwdc 2026

WWDC 2026 Keynote Marked a Major Departure From Previous Years

Thursday June 11, 2026 5:52 am PDT by
Apple's WWDC 2026 keynote broke from a longstanding format tradition, abandoning the platform-by-platform structure that has defined the annual developer conference for years in favor of a theme-driven presentation. Previous WWDC keynotes were organized by operating system. Last year's event walked through iOS, watchOS, tvOS, macOS, visionOS, and iPadOS in sequence before closing with a...
Read Full Article • 48 comments
iOS App Store General Feature Desaturated

Apple Introduces Major App Store Subscription Overhaul at WWDC 2026

Thursday June 11, 2026 6:50 am PDT by
Apple announced a sweeping set of new subscription tools for App Store developers at WWDC 2026, including cross-developer subscription bundles, group and enterprise purchasing options, retention tools, and a streamlined submission workflow. Subscription Bundles and Suites The main change is a new Bundle and Suite system that lets developers partner with each other to offer combined...
Read Full Article • 34 comments

Top Rated Comments

M
Martius
79 months ago
Well, I was right about 2 weeks ago 😁

For the first time in my life, just let me enjoy it please.

Have a nice WWDC!


I think we will see a Mac Mini special dev edition with ARM processor this year. It's a really big change and the only way to make it happen is to give developers a test device. Selling a laptop / iMac as test device is non-sense (all-in-one is not good for testing purposes), Mac Pro is too expensive. So Mac Mini is the choice IMO.
Score: 77 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
plexdk
79 months ago
You guys will be fine - Us who were in the PowerPC to Intel transition feared the same thing, but survived :p
Score: 49 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kinless Avatar
kinless
79 months ago
I like how during the Virtualization feature demo, they only mention Linux and not Windows. As a full stack web developer, I need all environments, so it makes me nervous. Need more info before deciding if I'm going to make the jump to their silicon or begrudgingly transition my primary machine to a PC. Here's hoping...
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macbwizard Avatar
macbwizard
79 months ago
They didn't really share any benchmarks or comparisons beyond that vague graph.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
venom600 Avatar
venom600
79 months ago
Well, this is my last Mac. It's been a long time coming, but this is the final straw for me.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
redheeler Avatar
redheeler
79 months ago
It took Apple less than four years to obsolete the last G5s after the switch to Intel. So another full-on architecture change. For this of us with 2019 MBPs or Mac Pros this’ll be fun.

And it also means goodby Hackintosh users or unsupported Macs. Been fun having you.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments