People try the Microsoft Surface Pro X, Wednesday, Oct. Where the ARM chips will come from, and if any existing manufacturer will want to have its own ARM chips ready, is a question for another time.
They may not go ‘all-in’ and do a complete switch to ARM-based machines, but it’s a safe bet that there will be similar ‘exploratory’ Windows 10 on ARM laptops on sale during 2021 by a number of manufacturers, with a larger volume of entry- and mid-range ARM machines available during 2022. I don’t think that anyone reading this will assume that Apple’s competition will not react. Microsoft will forge ahead…with repercussions for the rest of the Windows PC industry.Specifically, what are Dell, HP, Asus, and others going to do if Apple offers materially better laptops and desktops and Microsoft continues to improve Windows on ARM Surface devices?”
“ forget Windows on ARM and cede modern PCs to Apple, or forge ahead, fix app compatibility problems and offer an ARM-based alternative to Apple’s new Macs. Where does that leave Windows 10? That’s where it gets interesting. Intel belongs to yesterday, the future belongs ARM. Unless there is an uncharacteristic stramash that brings the whole project down, this MacBook Pro is going to make a simple statement. But the response to the Mac mini based ‘Developer Transition Kit’ suggests that this MacBook is going to be far closer to the mark than many expect.
Anyone paying attention will realise that this first clearly radical ARM-powered MacBook Pro is going to be out on the bleeding edge, it’s going to have some teething issues, and the promise of 100 percent compatibility may not be immediately there.