Apple’s Macbook Air is rumored to be getting an imminent refresh. Inside the machine, the custom chip that Apple and Intel developed hand in hand, will also be getting an upgrade. However this time around, Apple’s competitors may have access to the same chip, or a variation of it. So the Macbook Air might be met with more, and stiffer competition from Apple’s competitors.
Most of Apple’s notebook line is overdue for a major overhaul. We recently reported about the slight possibility, and probable future that Apple notebooks will see quad core processors. The Macbook Air, however, is expected to get an imminent refresh, including a new Centrino processor from Intel. But among the slue of new technology unveiled at Intel’s Developer’s Forum, the new chip only got a slight mention.
“Part of the secret sauce that enabled Apple to build the system is the small-footprint Merom processor that Intel accelerated into production for the company. As shown below, the packaging for the Merom processor at the heart of the MBA is significantly smaller than a standard mobile processor. Intel also compressed the 965 chipset and, in doing so, reduced the total CPU + chipset footprint by about 60 percent,” Josh Hruska reports for Ars Technica.
Does Apple need to be worried about competitors using this new chip in mobile internet devices? Probably not, but the fact that Apple will no longer be the only company with access to a chip like this, makes it exciting to see what’s coming next. With the Macbook Air, Apple had already made the decision to seemingly ignore their competition and follow their instinct for hardware design. Removing the optical drive was a big gamble, but it paid off.
Rather than focus on what their competitors are doing, Apple has always done a tremendous job at focusing on innovating their own products. By making sure their products are far superior to anything other OEM’s can offer, Apple will continue to stay ahead of the industry.
Some technical specs for the new Centrino processors are as follows:
• Will be used in Lenovo’s X301 and HP’s 2530p
• TDP of just 17W
• SL9400 (1.8GHz) and the SL9300 (1.6GHz) use a 1066MHz FSB and carry 6MB of L2 cache
• “Intel is also introducing a pair of 10W processors: the SU9400 (1.4GHz) and SU9300 (1.2GHz). Both of these chips run on an 800MHz FSB and carry 3MB of L2 cache.”
Read – Ars Technica
[via MacRumors]
Image Source – Intel
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