Windows laptops are having a moment. Here’s why it’s a big deal
Is Intel cooked?
Several years ago, Apple made a big promise. The tech giant vowed to replace the processor in all of its Mac machines by 2022 and replace them with an SoC, or “system on a chip.” In essence, this means that the entire operating system, graphics card, and memory can be installed on a single chip.
Sure, there are some downsides, most notably being that the processor and graphics card are impossible to replace without replacing the entire machine. You can’t have one without the other. That’s the trade-off. What you get is miles of efficiency.
My M2 MacBook Pro can go days without being charged if needed. A MacBook Air can go even longer. Because the processor and other units are built and designed specifically for the piece of hardware it is being installed to, the entire machine is far more efficient than any other laptop you can buy. The alternative is that Lenovo or some other company manufactures a laptop, they go to Intel for the processor and Intel sells them a “one size fits all” chip that may not work well with the other hardware inside.
This pays off with Apple’s MacBooks. The M1 MacBook Air outperformed an Intel-based MacBook Pro. It was real, it was legit, and it was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen.
