What is Apple Silicon? What is ARM? What is "Armac"?

Apple Silicon -- which Apple tends to spell without capitalization, i.e. Apple silicon -- is what the company is collectively referring to its own System-on-a-Chip (SoC) hardware designs that combine a processor, graphics processor, and other components on an integrated circuit (IC).

Apple introduced its first publicly available Apple Silicon Macs on November 10, 2020; powered by the M1 chip. A number of subsequent models powered with later Apple Silicon processors have been introduced, as well.

Photo Credit: Apple, Inc. (macOS Big Sur)

Although Apple has been custom designing its own SoCs to varying degrees for many years for its iOS devices -- starting with the Apple A4 in the original iPad back in 2010 -- the company is licensing an instruction set and likely plenty of reference guidelines and patents from a company called ARM (originally for Acorn RISC Machine), so it is reasonable to refer to these Apple Silicon-powered Macs as ARM-based. In its polished marketing content, Apple never mentioned ARM by name, but in an insightful interview, Apple SVP Craig Federighi did refer to these Macs as ARM-based.

Apple Silicon-powered Macs are the first Macs to use Apple's SoCs and the first to use ARM-based processors. However, the practically forgotten Apple Newton used purely ARM-designed processors, so this is not Apple's first time to benefit from a collaboration with ARM.

"Armac" is what EveryMac.com uses to refer to these ARM-based Macs (ARM + Mac = Armac) in a nod to the "Macintel" (Macintosh + Intel = Macintel) systems that these ARM-based Apple Silicon Macs replace.

Why did Apple decide to switch to ARM-based Apple Silicon processors?

In the official company press release, Apple reported that the company decided to transition from Intel processors to its own ARM-based Apple Silicon "to deliver industry-leading performance and powerful new technologies."

More specifically, Apple notes that:

For over a decade, Apple's world-class silicon design team has been building and refining Apple SoCs. The result is a scalable architecture custom designed for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch that leads the industry in unique features and performance per watt, and makes each of them best in class. Building upon this architecture, Apple is designing a family of SoCs for the Mac. This will give the Mac industry-leading performance per watt and higher performance GPUs -- enabling app developers to write even more powerful pro apps and high-end games. And access to technologies such as the Neural Engine will make the Mac an amazing platform for developers to use machine learning. This will also create a common architecture across all Apple products, making it far easier for developers to write and optimize software for the entire Apple ecosystem.

It is worth emphasizing this "performance per watt" declaration, because it is the same reason Apple reportedly decided to switch from PowerPC to Intel processors back in 2005.

With Macs essentially running on Apple's own System-on-a-Chip (SoC), it also will allow Apple to have more control of its hardware and software development cycles, make it harder to compare its computers to those of competitors, and easier to close the operating system to third-parties that do not pay an effective "access tax" or that compete with Apple. It likely will lower Apple's costs and increase its profit margins, too.

Will ARM-based Apple Silicon Macs cost less than Intel-based Macs?

EveryMac.com's original speculative answer held up pretty well throughout the transition period between Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. A quick review of the last Intel Mac and first Apple Silicon Mac in each category largely confirms nearly identical pricing. Only the first Apple Silicon Mac mini was offered at a lower starting price:

Last Intel Mac	Intro Price	First Apple Silicon Mac	Intro Price
MacBook Air	US$999	MacBook Air M1	US$999
MacBook Pro 13"	US$1299	MacBook Pro M1 13"	US$1299
MacBook Pro 16"	US$2399	MacBook Pro M1 Pro 16"	US$2499
iMac 21.5" 4K	US$1299	iMac 24" M1	US$1299
Mac mini Intel	US$799	Mac mini M1	US$699
--	--	Mac Studio M1 Max	US$1999
Mac Pro Intel	US$5999	Mac Pro M2 Ultra	US$6999

It also is worth noting that rather than decrease the price, Apple actually slightly increased the price of the 16" MacBook Pro and significantly increased the introductory price of the Mac Pro. Apple also introduced a new Mac Studio line, which represents a new mid-range desktop computer category.

The original answer from July 15, 2020 follows:

No. Although no official information is available, it is reasonable to speculate that Apple will continue to price its ARM-based Macs with Apple Silicon processors within a familiar range.

By sharing processor design resources across its Mac, iPhone, and iPad lines and no longer having to pay third-parties like Intel and AMD for processors and graphics processors, Apple likely will realize significant cost savings and could pass these savings onto the customer.

However, it is much more likely that the company instead will boost its profit margins and perhaps reinvest more in research and development. Maybe Apple even will reinvest more in "reshoring" and automating manufacturing to better protect its intellectual property and reduce its dependence on political trouble spots. Keep in mind that Apple prices its products primarily based on the consumer's willingness to pay, not the company's costs.

There likely will remain some overlap between the lower end of the Mac price range and the iPad, but in general, Apple probably will position the Mac as a "more pro" device. Macs will be priced accordingly.

With the notable exception of the dearly departed Xserve server, there is historical precedent for Apple not significantly changing the prices of Macs from the switch between PowerPC and Intel processors, as well:

Last PowerPC Mac	Intro Price	First Intel Mac	Intro Price
iBook G4 12"	US$999	MacBook "Core Duo" 13"	US$1099
PowerBook G4 15"	US$1999	MacBook Pro 15"	US$1999
iMac G5 17"	US$1299	iMac "Core Duo" 17"	US$1299
Mac mini G4	US$499	Mac mini "Core Solo"	US$599
Power Mac G5	US$1999	Mac Pro "Quad Core"	US$2199
Xserve G5	US$3999	Xserve Xeon "Quad Core"	US$2999

As you can see, for the PowerPC to Intel switch, Apple held the entry-level price for the consumer targeted iMac and professional notebook exactly the same and actually increased the entry-level price for the Mac mini as well as the consumer notebook and professional tower models.

The least expensive Apple Mac the company ever has sold new is the Mac mini with a US$499 starting price at various times. The least expensive iMac started at a low US$799 way back in 2000 and 2001 (a price point the company never has hit again), and although some refurb and blowout models have dipped below from time-to-time, Apple never has introduced a new Mac notebook for less than US$999.

Apple is likely to price ARM-based Apple Silicon Macs about the same as Intel-based ones.

Where can I buy an ARM-based Apple Silicon Mac?

You can buy an ARM-based Apple Silicon Mac directly from Apple and from Apple Authorized Resellers like site sponsor Adorama. In addition to the latest Apple Silicon Macs, Adorama commonly has deep discounts on recently discontinued/open box models, too.

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