Why is Apple making this transition?

There are three main reasons:

• Performance: Apple has achieved high-performance levels per watt with its ARM-based A series of chips. When chips run faster, they consume much more power, which cuts into battery life and produces a lot of heat. By creating its chips, Apple can tweak the designs to the sweet spot of performance and power consumption for any given Mac—laptops trade processing power for longer battery life, whereas desktops have fewer tradeoffs. Plus, Apple can build special technologies, like advanced power management and high-performance video editing, into its chips to enhance those capabilities in macOS.

• Profit: Apple didn’t mention this in the keynote, but it’s a big deal. Intel processors have high-profit margins, and Apple would prefer to keep that money instead of paying it to Intel.

• Control: Apple CEO Tim Cook has famously said, “We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products we make.” With Apple making its chips, its product roadmaps are within its control, rather than being subject to Intel’s schedule, capabilities, and whims.