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Mac transition to Intel processors

The Mac transition to Intel processors was the process of switching the central processing units (CPUs) of Apple Inc.'s line of Mac and Xserve computers from PowerPC processors over to Intel's x86-64 processors.[a] The change was announced at the 2005 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) by then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who said Apple would gradually stop using PowerPC microprocessors supplied by Freescale (formerly Motorola) and IBM.[1]

This article is about Apple's transition of its Mac computers from the PowerPC architecture to Intel processors. For details on the architecture of Intel-based Apple computers, see Apple–Intel architecture.

The transition was the second time Apple had switched the processor instruction set architecture of its personal computers. The first was in 1994, when Apple discarded the Mac's original Motorola 68000 series architecture in favor of the then-new PowerPC platform.[2]


Apple's initial press release originally outlined that the move would begin by June 2006, with completion slated by early 2008 - the transition had proceeded faster than anticipated. The first-generation Intel-based Macs were released in January 2006 with Mac OS X 10.4.4 Tiger. In August, Jobs announced the last models to switch, with the Mac Pro available immediately and the Intel Xserve available by October,[3] although shipments for the latter computer line did not start until December.[4]


The final version of Mac OS X that ran on PowerPC processors was Leopard, released in October 2007, with PowerPC binary translation support (using Rosetta) persisting up through the following version, Snow Leopard.[5] Support was later dropped in Lion.


In 2020, Apple announced that it would shift its Mac line to Apple silicon, which are ARM-based processors developed in-house.[2]

History[edit]

1980s[edit]

Apple's efforts to move to Intel hardware began in 1985. A proposal was floated after Jobs departed but was quickly disapproved by management.[10]

1990s[edit]

The first known attempt by Apple to move to Intel's platform was the Star Trek project, a code name given to a secret project to run a port of Classic Mac OS System 7 and its applications on an Intel-compatible personal computer.[10] The effort began on February 14, 1992, with the blessing of Intel's then-CEO Andy Grove.[10]


Apple leaders set an October 31 deadline to create a working prototype. The team met that deadline, and had a functional demo ready by December. John Sculley's departure during the Star Trek project was a factor in the project's termination. Michael Spindler, who took over as Apple's CEO, devoted most of Apple's resources to moving to PowerPC instead,[10] thus initiating Apple's first processor transition.


After Apple's 1997 acquisition of NeXT, Apple began to rework their NeXTSTEP operating system into a successor to the classic Mac OS, codenamed Rhapsody. Jobs (who rejoined Apple upon the purchase) demonstrated an Intel-compatible build of Rhapsody to Dell founder and namesake Michael Dell. Jobs offered to license the new OS to Dell for its PCs, so that users could choose between it and Windows. However, Dell declined when Jobs insisted that the company license the operating system for every PC it ships, regardless of whether or not the user wanted to use Mac OS.[11]

Legacy[edit]

A Mashable article in 2016 noted that the decision to switch to Intel processors gave many people who wanted a Mac, but couldn't commit to giving up Windows, a way to have both via Boot Camp and a number of virtualization programs,[49] and that Mac, as a computer platform, had a renaissance following the transition, with more apps being developed.[49] The article also said following the transition to Intel, Mac, while still outsold by Windows and other computer systems, has had a remarkable comeback, and also noted that Mac users tend to be loyal to the Apple ecosystem, which leads to purchases of other Apple products such as iPad, iPhone and Apple Watch.[49]


On June 22, 2020, Apple announced plans to transition the Macintosh to ARM processors over a two-year period, following a roadmap similar to the Intel transition, including universal binaries and a Rosetta 2 compatibility program. Apple had been using ARM processors in the iPhone since 2007, and had been using them in the iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, and Apple Watch as well, and had been designing its own ARM processors since the Apple A6 in 2012.

June 6, 2005: Apple announced its plans to switch to Intel processors at the and released a Developer Transition System, a PC running an Intel build of Mac OS X 10.4.1 in a modified Power Mac G5 case, to all Select and Premier members of the Apple Developer Connection at a price of $999.[1][50]

Worldwide Developer Conference

January 10, 2006: Jobs announced the first two computers in this series, the 15" , the first laptop to support SATA, and iMac Core Duo line, both using an Intel Core Duo chip and offered to trade in the Developer Transition Kits for iMacs.

MacBook Pro

February 28, 2006: Jobs announced that the now also comes with SATA connection and an Intel Core chip, in either the Solo or Duo varieties.

Mac mini

April 5, 2006: Apple announced the release of , which allowed users of Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP[51] (later versions of Boot Camp allow later versions of Windows).

Boot Camp

April 24, 2006: Apple announced the 17" MacBook Pro, replacing the 17" .

PowerBook

April 27, 2006: Intel announced that processors with the would be released months sooner than previously thought.

Core microarchitecture

May 16, 2006: Apple announced the 13" with SATA support, replacing both the iBook line and the 12" PowerBook.

MacBook

June 26, 2006: Intel announced the server/workstation CPU.[52]

Xeon 5100 series

July 5, 2006: Apple announced a special educational configuration of the , replacing the old G4 eMac.

iMac

August 7, 2006: "Transition Complete" - Apple announced the Intel-based and Xserve, replacing the Power Mac G5 and Xserve G5, at the Worldwide Developers Conference; both use the Xeon 5100 series ("Woodcrest") processors.[41][42][4]

Mac Pro

October 26, 2007: Apple shipped "Leopard", the final release with PowerPC support. Macs using a G3 processor cannot boot this operating system as the backwards compatibility with them have been removed, only G4 and G5 processors with a minimum 867 MHz clock speed are supported. Although it runs on PowerPC machines, it omits the Classic environment, ending Apple's support of software for the classic Mac OS.

Mac OS X 10.5

August 28, 2009: Apple shipped Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" exclusively for Intel Macs. PowerPC Macs cannot boot this OS as the backwards compatibility with them have been removed. This is also the final release with Rosetta, allowing PowerPC software to run on an Intel Mac.

March 1, 2011: The beta version of the then-upcoming removed "Rosetta" and lost the ability to run PowerPC based software.[53]

Mac OS X Lion

June 23, 2011: Support for Mac OS 10.5 Leopard came to a end, formally ending Apple's support of PowerPC on Mac OS X.[55]

[54]

July 20, 2011: The release of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion formally ended Apple's support of PowerPC-based software.

August 7, 2011: PowerPC hardware reached "vintage" status having been discontinued five years prior, ending most of Apple's service and parts support for PowerPC hardware.

June 11, 2012: Apple released iTunes 10.6.3, their last application with support for PowerPC processors.

[56]

August 7, 2013: PowerPC hardware reached "obsolete" status having been discontinued seven years prior, ending all of Apple's service and parts support for PowerPC hardware.

Hackintosh

Star Trek project

Universal binary

Mac transition to Apple silicon

Apple Universal Binary Programming Guidelines

Can Developers Give Mactel an Enterprise Boost?

Boot Camp, Apple's solution to running Windows operating systems via a dual-boot method