Apple quietly discontinues popular gadget and stops selling in store – check your devices now
APPLE has quietly pulled the plug on an 18-year-old staple of its computer lineup.
That means if you have an Apple Mac with an Intel processor, you now have a relic on your hands.
Apple first introduced Intel-powered Macs in 2005 with a keynote announcement by CEO Steve Jobs that made the audience gasp.
"It's true," the screen behind him said. "Yes, it's true," Jobs echoed. "We are transitioning from PowerPC to Intel processors."
Now, 18 years later, CEO Tim Cook has closed the door on that pioneering era.
Instead, the new Mac Pro will replace the last of the Intel-powered machines.
That means the entire line of Apple products now uses its own proprietary Apple chip.
The reason for the change is similar to the reason it moved toward Intel's Power PC chips in the first place - to deliver faster speed and enhance performance.
However, there is another key reason for the move.
Amid upheaval caused to supply chains during the global Covid-19 pandemic, Apple wanted to have more control over its manufacturing.
The pandemic caused the tech giant to get burned with production and delivery delays due to much of its manufacturing taking place overseas in China, which was shut down for much of the pandemic.
It also wants to control its key technologies and be less reliant on chips from other sources, amid a worldwide shortage.
While the discontinuation happened quietly, it's been an almost three-year-long transition from Intel chips to Apple Silicon.
WHAT IT MEANS IF YOU HAVE AN INTEL MAC
Although Intel Macs are gone from Apple’s website and stores, the company still supports some of them, so you don't need to necessarily worry about an immediate replacement.
With the upcoming macOS Sonoma, which should be available later this fall, there are several Intel Macs that will be eligible for the new operating system update. They are:
- 019 iMac or newer
- 2017 iMac Pro
- 2018 MacBook Air or newer
- 2018 MacBook Pro or newer
- 2019 Mac Pro or newer
- 2018 Mac mini or newer
The only exception in this list is the Mac Studio, which was first released in 2022 and only features an Apple Silicon chip.
The first is budget. There is a wide range of price points available, so set a budget and find the best machine within the price set
The second is the processor. This is the heart of the machine and an important consideration. The most important thing to look for in a processor is its clock speed, measured in GHz. The higher the clock speed, the faster your computer will be.
The third is memory. The more RAM your computer has, the more things it can keep in memory at once, making it run faster.
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The fourth is the graphics card. This part of the computer handles graphics processing, and it’s especially and multimedia activities. When choosing a graphics card, you’ll want to consider the number of cores it has and its clock speed and bandwidth.
Finally, you must consider storage. HDD, or hard disk drive, is the traditional type of storage. It’s slower than SSD but more affordable.