ARM-based processors have been in Macs for more than a year now, and a new report claims that Apple now has a monopoly on the PC market for ARM-powered silicon.
According to a new report from Strategy Analytics, which Tom’s Hardware(opens in new tab) cites, Apple will control nearly 90% of the income generated by PCs using ARM CPUs by 2021.
According to Strategy Analytics, ARM-based PCs now account for 9% of the global PC market.
For Apple, who are the primary competitors? In addition to Chromebooks with ARM processors, there are a small number of Windows on ARM laptops (powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon SoCs) that have been available for a few years.
Strategy Analytics’ Director of Handset Component Technologies, Sravan Kundojjala, noted: “Apple’s M-series CPU family set the benchmark and gave Apple a 2-3-year lead over the rest of the ARM-based PC processor suppliers. ARM notebook PC processor sales were only 3 percent of total revenue in 2021, and Qualcomm is behind Apple in terms of CPU performance.”
Analysis: Full steam ahead – except supply issues could muddy the waters
M1-powered MacBooks debuted in late 2020, and compared to other ARM-based notebooks, the Apple SoC provided significantly more power than other ARM-based systems on the market, which were comparatively underpowered.
To keep the trend going, Apple released the M2 chip, the next-generation offering, which can be found in the Mac mini and iMac as well as the finest MacBooks and best laptops overall.
As evidenced by this report, Apple’s strategy of abandoning Intel in favour of its own silicon has already had a significant impact on the laptop market.
With Rosetta—the technology that allows its ARM CPUs to run x86 software created for Intel chips—Apple controls both hardware and software in this case, which is a major factor in its success.
Only a potential lockdown interruption in China, which might affect future shipments of ARM-based Macs and new MacBooks with with Apple’s M2 processor, threatens to rock the boat and lower future sales forecasts for the company’s next products.
According to reports, the new MacBook Pro 13-inch (M2, 2022) has already been delayed, as has the MacBook Pro 14-inch (2021) and MacBook Pro 16-inch (2022). (2021).
A number of concerns about stock levels are also circulating about the new MacBook Air’s July launch date, which hasn’t been confirmed by Apple at this point.
