Apple Will Hold a Special November Event to Unveil Its Very First ARM Mac

Apple is holding its highly-anticipated October press event on Tuesday the 13th. Most people expect the iPhone 12 to be the star of the show, with Apple unveiling the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. One thing we likely won’t see, says Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, is the new ARM-based Mac.

According to the Bloomberg report, Apple reportedly is holding off on unveiling its first Mac with custom silicon. Instead of bundling the new MacBooks with the iPhone, Apple reportedly will wait for the big unveiling until another event that will be held in November.

What Is the ARM-Based Mac?

In June, Apple used WWDC to announce its plan to move its notebook lineup away from Intel and towards its own silicon. The new apple Silicon Macs are based on an ARM architecture that is similar to the iPhone’s A14 processor but is more powerful and has features to support desktop use.

Apple says the notebooks will deliver industry-leading performance. These Macs also will be able to run thousands upon thousands of iPad and iPhone apps.

Rumors suggest the new ARM-based Mac will be a notebook, with some sources claiming it will be a 13-inch MacBook Pro. In contrast, others believe it will be a refreshed version of the 12-inch MacBook.

Launch Date This Fall?

At WWDC, Apple also said it would provide details on its first ARM-based Mac sometime this fall with the goal of beginning retail sales by the end of the year.

With the calendar now squarely in October, this “end of the year” time limit is right around the corner. If we don’t hear about the Mac during the iPhone 12 announcement, then a November event is a strong possibility.

Transition to Take Years

Apple is expected to unveil only one ARM-based Mac model this year, but that is just the beginning of a larger endeavor to convert over all its computers to its own silicon.

Once Apple starts this transition over to an ARM platform, the company predicts it will take about two years to complete. During that time, the company will begin to gradually phase out its existing Intel Mac lineup and replace it with its own silicon.

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]