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 Roundup: WWDC 2026
Related Forum: Apple, Inc and Tech Industry

Popular Stories

WWDC26 Glowing Ring Feature

Apple Sending WWDC 2026 Invites to Special Event Lottery Winners

Thursday April 2, 2026 2:03 pm PDT by
Students and developers who won the lottery to attend the WWDC 2026 Special Event at Apple Park on June 8 have started receiving their invites. Apple is holding a WWDC keynote viewing at Apple Park, but space is limited so invites were done on a lottery basis. Apple accepted submissions from those interested in attending until Monday night, and winners are now being notified. Developers...
Read Full Article • 48 comments
unofficial wwdc pins 2

Apple Fan Creates Unofficial WWDC 2026 and 50th Anniversary Enamel Pins

Thursday April 2, 2026 1:57 pm PDT by
App developer Clément Sauvage has designed a set of enamel pins for Apple fans who want to commemorate WWDC 2026 and Apple's 50th anniversary. Sauvage is offering the pins on Kickstarter, and plans to start shipments in May ahead of WWDC. The pins feature the Apple developer logo, the Apple Intelligence icon, Apple's "spaceship" and rainbow at the Apple Park campus, the entrance to Apple's...
Read Full Article • 42 comments
Swift Student Challenge 2026

2026 Swift Student Challenge: Three Apps Created by Young Developers

Thursday April 9, 2026 7:59 am PDT by
In late March, Apple notified the winners of the 2026 Swift Student Challenge, who each received a complimentary one-year Apple Developer Program membership, AirPods Max 2, and a special certificate. A smaller group of Distinguished Winners were also invited to a three-day experience at Apple Park during WWDC 2026 in June. The annual Swift Student Challenge gives eligible student developers...
Read Full Article • 8 comments

Top Rated Comments

M
Martius
76 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
76 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
76 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
76 months ago
They didn't really share any benchmarks or comparisons beyond that vague graph.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
venom600 Avatar
venom600
76 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
76 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