Apple Inc. on Monday said it will switch to its own chips for its Mac computers, saying the first machines will ship this year, ending a nearly 15-year reliance on Intel Corp. to supply processors for its flagship laptops and desktops.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said it marked the beginning of a major new era for a product line that powered the company's rise in the 1980s and its resurgence in the late 1990s.
"Silicon is at the heart of our hardware," Cook said during a virtual keynote address recorded at the company's Cupertino, California, headquarters for its annual developer conference. "Having a world class silicon design team is a game changer.”