The Mac transition to Intel processors was the process of switching the
central processing unit
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor, or just processor, is the primary Processor (computing), processor in a given computer. Its electronic circuitry executes Instruction (computing), instructions ...
s (CPUs) of
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
's line of
Mac and
Xserve
The Xserve is a discontinued series of rack-mounted servers that was manufactured by Apple Inc. between 2002 and 2011. It was Apple's first rack-mounted server, and could function as a file server, web server or run high-performance computing ...
computers from
PowerPC
PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
processors over to
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
's
x86-64
x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit extension of the x86 instruction set architecture, instruction set. It was announced in 1999 and first available in the AMD Opteron family in 2003. It introduces two new ope ...
processors. The change was announced at the 2005
Worldwide Developers Conference
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macO ...
(WWDC) by then-Apple CEO
Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, inventor, and investor best known for co-founding the technology company Apple Inc. Jobs was also the founder of NeXT and chairman and majority shareholder o ...
, who said Apple would gradually stop using PowerPC
microprocessor
A microprocessor is a computer processor (computing), processor for which the data processing logic and control is included on a single integrated circuit (IC), or a small number of ICs. The microprocessor contains the arithmetic, logic, a ...
s supplied by
Freescale
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. was an American semiconductor manufacturer. It was created by the divestiture of the Semiconductor Products Sector of Motorola in 2004. Freescale focused their integrated circuit products on the automotive, embedde ...
(formerly
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
) and
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
.
The transition was the second time Apple had switched the processor
instruction set architecture
In computer science, an instruction set architecture (ISA) is an abstract model that generally defines how software controls the CPU in a computer or a family of computers. A device or program that executes instructions described by that ISA, ...
of its personal computers. The first was in 1994, when Apple discarded the Mac's original
Motorola 68000 series
The Motorola 68000 series (also known as 680x0, m68000, m68k, or 68k) is a family of 32-bit computing, 32-bit complex instruction set computer (CISC) microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and ...
architecture in favor of the then-new PowerPC platform.
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
Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals made by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of four desktop computers in the current ...
available immediately and the Intel
Xserve
The Xserve is a discontinued series of rack-mounted servers that was manufactured by Apple Inc. between 2002 and 2011. It was Apple's first rack-mounted server, and could function as a file server, web server or run high-performance computing ...
available by October, although shipments for the latter computer line did not start until December.
The final version of
Mac OS X
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
that ran on PowerPC processors was
Leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...
, released in October 2007, with PowerPC binary translation support (using
Rosetta) persisting up through the following version,
Snow Leopard
The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...
. Support was later dropped in
Lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
.
In 2020, Apple announced that it would
shift its Mac line to Apple silicon, which are
ARM-based systems-on-a-chip developed in-house.
[
]
Background
Apple had been using PowerPC processors in its products for 11 years when the move to Intel processors was announced.
At 2003's WWDC keynote address, Jobs unveiled a Power Mac with a processor from IBM's PowerPC G5 product line, the first personal computer to feature a 64-bit
In computer architecture, 64-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 64 bits wide. Also, 64-bit central processing units (CPU) and arithmetic logic units (ALU) are those that are based on processor registers, a ...
processor.[
He promised a 3 ]GHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or Cycle per second, cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in ter ...
Power Mac G5 within 12 months, but never released such a product.[ In 2004's WWDC keynote address, Jobs addressed the broken promise, saying IBM had trouble moving to a fabrication process lower than the ]90 nm process
The 90 nm process refers to the technology used in semiconductor manufacturing to create integrated circuits with a minimum feature size of 90 nanometers. It was an advancement over the previous 130 nm process. Eventually, it was succeeded by ...
.[ Apple officials also said in 2003 they planned to release a PowerBook with a G5 processor,] but such a product never materialized. Tim Cook
Timothy Donald Cook (born November 1, 1960) is an American business executive who is the current chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Cook had previously been the company's chief operating officer under its co-founder Steve Jobs. Cook joined ...
, then Apple's Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Operations, said during an earnings call that putting a G5 in a PowerBook was "the mother of all thermal challenges".
In addition, there were reports that IBM officials had concerns over the profitability of a low-volume business, which caused tensions with Apple and its desires for a wide variety of PowerPC processors.
History
1980s
Apple's efforts to move to Intel hardware began in 1985. A proposal was floated after Jobs departed but was quickly disapproved by management.
1990s
In the 1990s, Intel often took out ads in ''Macworld
''Macworld'' is a digital magazine and website dedicated to products and software of Apple Inc., published by Foundry, a subsidiary of IDG.
History
''Macworld'' was founded by David Bunnell and Cheryl Woodard (publishers) and Andrew Fl ...
'' convincing Macintosh users to switch to PCs powered by Intel CPUs.
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
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Mac (computer), Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and end ...
System 7 and its applications on an Intel-compatible personal computer.[ The effort began on February 14, 1992, with the blessing of Intel's then-CEO Andy Grove.][
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
Michael Spindler (22 December 1942 – September 5, 2016) was a German businessman who was president and CEO of Apple from 1993 to 1996. Spindler was born in Berlin, Germany.
Career
Spindler graduated from engineering at Technical University in ...
, who took over as Apple's CEO, devoted most of Apple's resources to moving to PowerPC instead,[ thus initiating Apple's first processor transition.
After Apple's 1997 acquisition of ]NeXT
NeXT, Inc. (later NeXT Computer, Inc. and NeXT Software, Inc.) was an American technology company headquartered in Redwood City, California that specialized in computer workstations for higher education and business markets, and later develope ...
, Apple began to rework their NeXTSTEP
NeXTSTEP is a discontinued object-oriented, multitasking operating system based on the Mach kernel and the UNIX-derived BSD. It was developed by NeXT, founded by Steve Jobs, in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was initially used for its ...
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
Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...
founder and namesake Michael Dell
Michael Saul Dell (born February 23, 1965) is an American billionaire businessman and investor. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Dell Technologies, one of the world's largest technology infrastructure companies.
As of May 2025, accordin ...
. Jobs offered to license the new OS to Dell for its PCs, so that users could choose between it and Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
. 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.
Early 2000s
In the years since the end of the Star Trek project, there were reports of Apple working to port its operating system to Intel's x86 processors, with one engineer managing to get Apple's OS to run on a number of Intel-powered computers.
In 2001, Jobs and then Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
president Kunitake Andō reportedly had a meeting to discuss the possibility of running Apple's operating system on its Vaio computers. Jobs even presented a Vaio running Mac OS. Such negotiations ultimately came to nothing.
In 2002, it was reported that Apple had more than a dozen software engineers tasked to a project code-named "Marklar," with a mission to steadily work on maintaining X86-compatible builds of Mac OS X.
It was noted in 2003 by IBM in an article published to its intranet
An intranet is a computer network for sharing information, easier communication, collaboration tools, operational systems, and other computing services within an organization, usually to the exclusion of access by outsiders. The term is used in ...
that Apple felt a transition to Intel would present massive software changes that it wanted to avoid. Nevertheless, rumors of an impending announcement of a transition to Intel cropped up in 2000 and 2003.
2005
News reports of an impending announcement by Apple to transition to Intel processors surfaced in early June 2005,[ close to that year's WWDC. The announcement was made during that year's WWDC Keynote Address.][
At the time Apple announced the transition, Jobs attributed the switch to a superior product roadmap that Intel offered,] as well as an inability to build products envisioned by Apple based on the PowerPC product roadmap.[ Meanwhile, pricing disputes with IBM, in addition to a desire by Apple to give its computer the ability to run ]Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
, were reportedly factors for the switch as well.[
]
Reaction to the change
At the time, a research director for Ovum Ltd. called the move "risky" and "foolish", noting that Intel's innovation in processor design is overshadowed by both AMD and IBM. Another analyst said the move risks diluting Apple's value proposition, since it will now have less control over its product road map, in addition to the risk of alienating its loyal users.[
]
AMD
Some observers expressed surprise that Apple made a deal with Intel instead of with AMD
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California and maintains significant operations in Austin, Texas. AMD is a hardware and fabless company that de ...
. By 2005, AMD had become popular with gamers and the budget conscious,[ but some analysts believed AMD's lack of low-power designs at the time was behind Apple's decision to go with Intel.][
In 2011, Apple investigated using AMD's low power Llano APU for the ]MacBook Air
The MacBook Air is a line of Mac (computer), Mac laptop computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc., Apple since 2008. It features a thin, light structure in a machining, machined aluminum case and currently either a 13-inch or 15-inch ...
, but eventually opted for Intel due to AMD's potential inability to supply enough Llano processors to meet demand.
32-bit regression
Apple had created the world's first consumer 64-bit desktop computer with its G5 based line-up; however, the first Intel-based Macs included only Intel Core Duo processors, which were 32-bit. Apple refreshed its line of computers six months later, adding Intel's new Intel Core 2 Duo
Intel Core is a line of multi-core (with the exception of Core Solo and Core 2 Solo) central processing units (CPUs) for midrange, embedded, workstation, high-end and enthusiast computer markets marketed by Intel Corporation. These processors ...
64-bit processors.
Concerns over Rosetta performance
When Rosetta was announced, it was noted that the translation software is designed to translate applications that run on a "PowerPC with a G3 processor and that are built for Mac OS X."[ It was noted at the time that translated software performs at a level between 50% and 80% of native software.][ The announcement caused concerns over performance.
]
Intel
At the time the transition was announced, it was noted that a degree of enmity towards Intel exists amongst some fans of Apple products, due to Intel's close identification with Microsoft. In addition, It was noted by Intel's then CEO, Paul Otellini, that Apple and Intel's relationship was strained at times, especially due to Apple's commission of an ad that shows Intel processors being outperformed by PowerPC processors.[
While there were questions over whether Apple would put the Intel Inside stickers on its products, Jobs dispelled such a possibility, saying it is redundant when Apple's use of Intel processors is well-known. "Intel Inside" stickers have never been included on any Apple product.
]
Osborne effect
There was concern that an early announcement of the change would cause an Osborne effect, but it would merely mean only a delay of purchases of Mac computers by retail and institutional customers, not permanent cancellations, and that Apple had enough cash on hand to weather a possible decline in computer sales.
Analysis of financial data suggests that the Osborne Effect did not materialize, with sales for Macs growing by 19% and 37% in the two quarters following March 2006.
Product compatibility
The Classic environment
This is a list of built-in apps and system components developed by Apple Inc. for macOS that come bundled by default or are installed through a system update. Many of the default programs found on macOS have counterparts on Apple's other operat ...
, the Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the ninth and final major release of the classic Mac OS operating system for Macintosh computers, made by Apple Computer. Introduced on October 23, 1999, it was promoted by Apple as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever", highlight ...
virtualization measure for Mac OS X, was not ported to the x86 architecture, leaving the new Intel-powered Macs incompatible with classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Mac (computer), Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and end ...
applications without a proper third-party PowerPC emulator.
There were also concerns over third-party software support, with reaction to the change being mixed amongst the software developer community, due to a need to recompile software for compatibility on Intel-based Macs.[ In early 2006, it was reported that a number of software companies, such as ]Adobe
Adobe (from arabic: الطوب Attub ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for mudbrick. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is use ...
, Aspyr and Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
, were not ready to release universal binary versions of their software offerings.
Technical issues
In the years prior to Apple's announcement of the transition, it was noted that there was a debate over the difference of endianness
file:Gullivers_travels.jpg, ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift, the novel from which the term was coined
In computing, endianness is the order in which bytes within a word (data type), word of digital data are transmitted over a data comm ...
between Intel and non-Intel processors, as well as the merits of each CPU architecture. The difference in endianness meant that some software could not simply be recompiled; it required changes to make it work on processors of either endianness.
Transition process
2005
During Apple's 2005 WWDC, the company introduced a Developer Transition Kit consisting of a prototype Intel-based Mac computer, along with preliminary versions of Mac OS X Tiger
Mac OS X Tiger (version 10.4) is the 5th major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system for Mac computers. Tiger was released to the public on April 29, 2005, for US$129.95 as the successor to Mac OS X 10.3 Panther. Inc ...
and Xcode
Xcode is a suite of developer tools for building apps on Apple devices. It includes an integrated development environment (IDE) of the same name for macOS, used to develop software for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. It w ...
, which allowed developers to prepare future versions of their software to run on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs.[
To allow apps built for PowerPC-based Macs to run on Intel-based Macs without recompilation, a dynamic binary translation software called Rosetta was created.]
2006
On January 10, Apple unveiled an Intel-based iMac, as well as a 15-inch MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro is a line of Mac laptop computers developed and manufactured by Apple. Introduced in 2006, it is the high-end sibling of the MacBook family, sitting above the ultra-portable MacBook Air and previously the low-end MacBook li ...
laptop, which replaced the similarly sized PowerBook.
On February 28, a Mac mini
Mac Mini (stylized as Mac mini) is a small form factor (desktop and motherboard), small form factor desktop computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is one of the company's four current Mac (computer), Mac desktop computers, positioned ...
featuring an Intel Core Duo processor was unveiled.
On April 5, the dual-boot software Boot Camp was released as a trial version, which allowed Intel-based Mac owners to run Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows
Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
.
On April 24, a MacBook Pro replacement for the 17-inch PowerBook was announced.
On May 16, a replacement for the iBook, called MacBook, was announced, thus completing the transition of Apple's laptop line to Intel processors.
On July 5, a replacement for the eMac, a special configuration of a 17-inch iMac for use in education, was announced.
On August 7, Apple unveiled a replacement for the PowerMac, Mac Pro
Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals made by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of four desktop computers in the current ...
, and an Intel-based version of Xserve
The Xserve is a discontinued series of rack-mounted servers that was manufactured by Apple Inc. between 2002 and 2011. It was Apple's first rack-mounted server, and could function as a file server, web server or run high-performance computing ...
. The unveiling of the Mac Pro was touted by Apple as a completion of its transition to Intel, and said the entire process took 210 days.[
]
Ongoing support for PowerPC following transition
Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6), released in August 2009, was the first version of Mac OS X (later macOS
macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
) to require a Mac with an Intel processor, ending operating system support for PowerPC Macs three years after the transition was complete. Support for Rosetta was removed from Mac OS X with the release of 10.7 Lion, which was released in July 2011, five years after the transition was complete. The last Apple application to support PowerPC processors was iTunes 10.6.3, which was released on June 11, 2012.
Apple has a policy of placing products that have not been sold for more than five years, but less than seven years, as "vintage", meaning hardware services from Apple Stores and service providers are subject to availability of inventory, or as required by law. After a product has not been sold for more than seven years, it is considered "obsolete", meaning it is not eligible for hardware support. All PowerPC-based Macs were obsolete by 2013.
In spite of the PowerPC machines being considered obsolete, use of the systems remains popular in retrocomputing; multiple community projects exist that aim to allow PowerPC Macs to carry out modern tasks, such as the Classilla and TenFourFox web browsers.
Legacy
A Mashable
Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005.
History
Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...
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, and that Mac, as a computer platform, had a renaissance following the transition, with more apps being developed.[ 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
The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
, iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
and Apple Watch
The Apple Watch is a brand of smartwatch products developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple. It incorporates activity tracker, fitness tracking, Health (Apple), health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates wit ...
.[
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
The iPhone is a line of smartphones developed and marketed by Apple that run iOS, the company's own mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007, at ...
since 2007, and had been using them in the iPad
The iPad is a brand of tablet computers developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple that run the company's mobile operating systems iOS and later iPadOS. The IPad (1st generation), first-generation iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010. ...
, iPod Touch
The iPod Touch (stylized as iPod touch) is a discontinued line of iOS-based mobile devices designed and formerly marketed by Apple Inc. with a touchscreen-controlled user interface. As with other iPod models, the iPod Touch can be used as a po ...
, Apple TV
Apple TV is a digital media player and a microconsole developed and marketed by Apple. It is a small piece of networking hardware that sends received media data such as video and audio to a TV or external display. Its media services include ...
, and Apple Watch
The Apple Watch is a brand of smartwatch products developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple. It incorporates activity tracker, fitness tracking, Health (Apple), health-oriented capabilities, and wireless telecommunication, and integrates wit ...
as well, and had been designing its own ARM processors since the Apple A6 in 2012.
Timeline
*June 6, 2005: Apple announced its plans to switch to Intel processors at the Worldwide Developer Conference 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.[
* January 10, 2006: Jobs announced the first two computers in this series, the 15" ]MacBook Pro
The MacBook Pro is a line of Mac laptop computers developed and manufactured by Apple. Introduced in 2006, it is the high-end sibling of the MacBook family, sitting above the ultra-portable MacBook Air and previously the low-end MacBook li ...
, the first laptop to support SATA
SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard ...
, and iMac Core Duo line, both using an Intel Core Duo chip and offered to trade in the Developer Transition Kits for iMacs.
* February 28, 2006: Jobs announced that the Mac mini
Mac Mini (stylized as Mac mini) is a small form factor (desktop and motherboard), small form factor desktop computer developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is one of the company's four current Mac (computer), Mac desktop computers, positioned ...
now also comes with SATA
SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard ...
connection and an Intel Core
Intel Core is a line of multi-core (with the exception of Core Solo and Core 2 Solo) central processing units (CPUs) for midrange, embedded, workstation, high-end and enthusiast computer markets marketed by Intel Corporation. These processors ...
chip, in either the Solo or Duo varieties.
* April 5, 2006: Apple announced the release of Boot Camp, which allowed users of Intel-based Macs to run Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct successor to Windows 2000 for high-end and business users a ...
(later versions of Boot Camp allow later versions of Windows).
* April 24, 2006: Apple announced the 17" MacBook Pro, replacing the 17" PowerBook.
* April 27, 2006: Intel announced that processors with the Core microarchitecture would be released months sooner than previously thought.
* May 16, 2006: Apple announced the 13" MacBook with SATA
SATA (Serial AT Attachment) is a computer bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives. Serial ATA succeeded the earlier Parallel ATA (PATA) standard ...
support, replacing both the iBook line and the 12" PowerBook.
* June 26, 2006: Intel announced the Xeon 5100 series server/workstation CPU.
* July 5, 2006: Apple announced a special educational configuration of the iMac
The iMac is a series of all-in-one computers from Apple Inc., sold as part of the company's Mac (computer), Mac family of computers. First introduced in 1998, it has remained a primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since and evol ...
, replacing the old G4 eMac.
* August 7, 2006: "Transition Complete" - Apple announced the Intel-based Mac Pro
Mac Pro is a series of workstations and servers for professionals made by Apple Inc. since 2006. The Mac Pro, by some performance benchmarks, is the most powerful computer that Apple offers. It is one of four desktop computers in the current ...
and Xserve
The Xserve is a discontinued series of rack-mounted servers that was manufactured by Apple Inc. between 2002 and 2011. It was Apple's first rack-mounted server, and could function as a file server, web server or run high-performance computing ...
, replacing the Power Mac G5 and Xserve G5, at the Worldwide Developers Conference
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an information technology conference held annually by Apple Inc. The conference is currently held at Apple Park in California. The event is used to showcase new software and technologies in the macO ...
; both use the Xeon 5100 series (" Woodcrest") processors.[
* October 26, 2007: Apple shipped Mac OS X 10.5 "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
This is a list of built-in apps and system components developed by Apple Inc. for macOS that come bundled by default or are installed through a system update. Many of the default programs found on macOS have counterparts on Apple's other operat ...
, ending Apple's support of software for the classic Mac OS
Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Mac (computer), Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and end ...
.
* 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 Mac OS X Lion removed "Rosetta" and lost the ability to run PowerPC based software.
* June 23, 2011: Support for Mac OS 10.5 Leopard came to a end, formally ending Apple's support of PowerPC hardware on Mac OS X.
* July 20, 2011: The release of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion formally ended Apple's development 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.
* 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.
* February 25, 2014: Support for Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard was dropped, formally ending Apple's support of PowerPC-based software.
See also
* Hackintosh
* Star Trek project
* Universal binary
* Mac transition to Apple silicon
The Mac transition to Apple silicon was the process of switching the central processing units (CPUs) of Apple's line of Mac computers from Intel's x86-64 processors to Apple-designed Apple silicon ARM64 systems-on-a-chip.
Apple CEO Tim Coo ...
Notes
References
External links
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
{{Intel
Macintosh platform
Intel