A brief DigiTimes report cites industry insiders that claim that Pegatron, an old Apple supplier, could be manufacturing the first ARM-based MacBook. Also known as Apple’s Star project or N84, this next MacBook Air is also rumored to come with a Retina display and possibly a lower price tag.
Apple has long wanted to break away from Intel so ARM processors could be the obvious choice as they require fewer transistors and less power. According to 9to5Mac, Pegatron has already built a small batch of prototype N84 devices with the ARM chipset and shipped them to Apple’s headquarters. So far, no other details are known.
It’s worth pointing out that other sources, like this Bloomberg reporter, say that the Apple ARM project in question is not a laptop, but actually a new, cheaper iPhone.
I’m told this “N84” device is actually the low-cost LCD iPhone that looks like an iPhone X. https://t.co/KU0xhfkkHe https://t.co/YqiGMLHacb
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 26, 2018
There’s also been speculation about the possibility of a convertible MacBook using an ARM chipset.
While we did talk to ARM back at Mobile World Congress 2018, the chipmaker did not discuss any Apple news or collaborations. It instead focused on its project Trillium and the exciting future of machine learning for smartphones.
Until Apple makes an official reveal, comment below on what you would like to see.
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