Apple is preparing at least three Macs with branded chips
This year Apple will release at least three Mac computers with ARM-processors of its own design, but the main work will be taken by Intel chips. This scheme has already been tested on the Macbook Pro and iMac Pro series, and the company is not going to stop.
How it works?
Apple began using custom solutions in the first MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. In notebooks, the Apple T1 chip manages the touch panel and fingerprint reader of the Touch ID and the FaceTime camera. Desktop iMac Pro in turn received an updated coprocessor T2, which is responsible for sound, image processing from the camera, drive operation and cooling system.
Their decisions allow Apple to reduce dependence on Intel. According to Bloomberg, in the lineup of 2018 branded chips will receive updated laptops and desktop (probably the next iMac or the long-awaited successor to Mac Pro).
If you believe the rumors, soon Apple can introduce a "budget" MacBook to replace the old MacBook Air.
Source: Bloomberg