What does "Macintel" mean?

EveryMac.com uses the term "Macintel" to refer to Macs with Intel processors. Macintosh + Intel = Macintel. Some prefer to use the term "Mactel" which combines the same words but uses the format from the Windows world (Windows + Intel = Wintel).

EveryMac.com provides a complete list of Intel-based Macs in the By Processor subsection of the Systems section of the site.

If an x86 transition was necessary, why not switch to AMD?

Although there has been much speculation regarding why Apple chose Intel over AMD, the best answer is probably provided by The Motley Fool columnist Tim Beyers, who quotes AMD CEO Hector Ruiz as saying "The biggest reason Apple went with Intel over AMD is because Intel can offer Apple a platform, whereas AMD can only offer them a CPU. Sure, right now AMD has the better processors, but Intel is offering Apple the chipsets, networking technology, and probably motherboards Apple needs to build a whole computer. If Apple went with AMD, it would have had to go contract with additional third parties to get the computer built..."

Although it may not happen in the short term, there is no reason why in the future Apple couldn't obtain CPUs from both Intel and AMD in the same way that they obtained CPUs from both Motorola and IBM in the past.

When will the switch from PowerPC to Intel processors occur?

According to Apple's June 6, 2005 press release, the transition from PowerPC-based Macs to Intel-based Macs would begin in mid-2006 and be completed by the end of 2007.

However, speculation began with (now defunct) rumor site Think Secret, which published a story on November 17, 2005 claiming that Apple would release Intel-based systems starting at MacWorld in January 2006.

The speculation continued on November 30, 2005 when Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner was quoted in a Reuters story saying that he was "becoming more convinced" of a January 2006 release for Intel-based Macs. Rumor site AppleInsider then jumped into the action on December 9, 2005, quoting American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu who said Apple "may be ready to debut the first Intel Mac during the first quarter of 2006."

Although those speculating generally failed to predict that the iMac G5 and PowerBook G4 would be the first systems transitioned to Intel processors -- replaced by the iMac "Core Duo" and MacBook Pro, respectively, -- these sources impressively were correct in predicting Apple's decision to begin the transition on January 10, 2006, a full six months earlier than originally announced.

Which Apple systems will be the first to include an Intel processor?

On June 20, 2005, EveryMac.com published:

Apple has not officially announced which system will be the first to include an Intel processor, but most are speculating that it would be either be the Mac mini or the PowerBook. Given that Steve Jobs explicitly mentioned in his June 6, 2005 keynote at WWDC he was disappointed by Apple's inability to deliver a PowerBook G5, it seems that the PowerBook may be the most likely candidate for an upgrade.

On January 10, 2006, Apple introduced the iMac "Core Duo" and MacBook Pro, the company's first Intel-based systems, replacing the iMac G5 and PowerBook G4, respectively. Apple's decision to replace the iMac G5 with the iMac "Core Duo" generally was surprising to analysts, rumor mongers, and pundits alike, as the iMac G5 had been revised on October 12, 2005, which made it more current than some of the other Apple models.

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