When I switched to using the Mac, via the iBook, I did it when Apple transitioned to the BSD Unix based operating system, Mac OS X. Coming from battling Windows everyday on the PC to a point of literally kicking the CPU in frustration for crashing every time, the iBook, with its stability, was a refreshing change. Yes, I used Linux then, too — but the time lost tinkering it to make it work with peripherals simply was not worth the effort. From the iBook, I upgraded to the Powerbook for more performance, and from there, I witnessed the next evolution in Apple’s computers, transitioning to Intel. I have experienced how Rosetta works — the compatibility layer that allows Intel-based Macs to run PowerPC-based applications. The main thing that excited me then was that the Intel-based Macs will allow me to easily run my preferred Linux distribution on it. I remember playing with both Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion to run Linux inside Mac OS X. This morning (June 23rd in Manila), Apple finally revealed the next phase for their Mac. They finally announced that they are moving away from Intel, and will be using their own chips, Apple Silicon. The hardware transition starts before the end of the year — I reckon with a new 13" Mac laptop running on Apple Silicon. The software transition starts today, at the virtual World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC 2020)! The main issue with changing from one hardware architecture to another is how seamless it is for the users. This usually falls on how fast application developers embrace and adapt to the new platform. However, with what Apple has demonstrated during the WWDC 2020 keynote, with how the new MacOS 10.16 runs perfectly fine on Apple Silicon-based Macs, this transition might be really seamless! In addition, Apple has worked with Microsoft and Adobe to make sure that their Office and Creative Suite applications are all available on day 1. Finally, Apple has finished porting all their applications, including Final Cut Pro, to the new platform. Apple is making sure that their business and professional users are ready to embrace their new hardware. And yes, Rosetta 2, the new Intel-binary on Apple Silicon translator looks promising, too, if we base it on Apple’s demo of a popular game running smoothly at 1080p. This is an exciting new chapter for Apple’s Mac. Now Apple will not be beholden to Intel’s tick-tock chip cycle. The use of Apple Silicon will provide a full end-to-end integration of hardware and software, with a product refresh cycle that is not dependent on another CPU chipmaker. Yes, this is also a way for Apple to save money — investing it on their own chips, rather than paying Intel and relying on their innovation, or the lack of it. Although I highly doubt that users will benefit directly from the cost savings, as I believe Apple will charge a premium for their Apple Silicon. Just like the transition from PowerPC to Intel, Apple’s move to its own Apple Silicon is making me excited on three fronts. First, seeing how the MacOS 10.6 Big Sur running smoothly on Apple Silicon A12Z (think iPad Pro processor), and given the power-saving feature of the A-series chips, I wonder how many chips Apple will bundle on every MacBook, MacBook Pro, iMac, iMac Pro and Mac Pro, and still have a power consumption similar to today’s Intel-based Macs. Will we see more CPU cores on an Apple Silicon Macbook than an Intel-based Mac Pro? Exciting times. Second, Apple will include their own hypervisor with MacOS 10.16, which means better support for virtual machines. I can just smell Linux running alongside my Mac applications again. Finally, with Macs having the same processor architecture as the iPhone and the iPad, I am excited that Apple is bringing full support for iPhone and iPad applications on the Mac! Yes, they have demonstrated a couple of iPhone applications running on the Mac with little to no issues. This is great for the entire Apple ecosystem! Apple announced a two-year transition period — two years to complete their shift from Intel to Apple Silicon across all their Macs! Apple will be seeding developers with a Mac Mini running on Apple Silicon A12Z to allow them to recompile their applications to Universal 2 to natively support both Intel and Apple Silicon architectures. Intel is now on their way out! Intel on the desktop and laptops has not innovated in a long time (maybe their calling now is on the server market, but then again, ARM-chips are starting to eat up a portion of that pie, too). I wonder when Apple will be replacing their AMD GPUs with their own — maybe in 3 years? Exciting times!