Apple beats Intel at its own games — plans to release new Mac processors that could outperform Intel’s fastest

Business is a ruthless game and Apple just made it personal.

Replacing Intel as a supplier wasn’t enough, Apple’s publicly humiliating Intel — by beating Intel at its own game.

On Dec. 7, Bloomberg reported that Apple is planning a series of new Mac processors that could outperform Intel’s fastest processors.

M1 chips are the real deal

On Nov. 10, Apple announced the release of its new M1 chips inside its Macs and Macbooks — replacing its existing supplier, Intel, and bringing chip design in-house.

Apple promised speed with its new processing chips and speed it delivered. The new chips were so powerful that a $700 Mac Mini powered by the new M1 chips had beat out a $4,000 Mac powered by Intel chips.

Apple’s breakup with Intel had been years in the making.

• In 2018, it was leaked that Apple would begin its move away from Intel, whose technology had stagnated and fallen short of Apple’s needs.
• In 2019, Apple blamed Intel for a shortage in processor supplies — leading to a drop in Apple’s 2019 Q2 sales.

Thriving in a PC dominated world

Apple has two problems it’s trying to overcome.

• Low notebook/PC market share… While Apple controls nearly 30% of the global mobile phone market, Apple only controls 8.5% of the notebook PC market.
• Slowing Mac sales growth… Apple made 10% of its revenue from Mac products in 2019 but Mac sales have been stagnant over the past 4 years.

With the launch of its new chips, Apple could be making a big push towards grabbing market share from PCs. The move could also ignite growth and boost Apple’s profitability — by saving Apple $150/mac in manufacturing costs.

For investors… The Notorious B.I.G. Apple

Mo’ money comes mo’ problems and Apple, being the largest company in the world ($2.1t), has its many problems:

• Regulatory pressure from lawmakers on the high fees (30% of sales) that app makers pay Apple to list on the App Store.
• iPhone sales, which makes up 55% of Apple’s sales, have slowed as consumers upgrade their phones less and cheaper phones enter the market.

Apple’s stock is up over 64% in 2020, much higher than the market average of 14.13%. This has led investors to question — how much further up can Apple go?

While it’s unlikely that you’ll see the high growth rates back in Apple’s early days, the company is still proving that its stock can beat the market. The launch of its new processors and continued growth in its wearables, home and accessories business could continue to push its stock up into 2020.

Learn more: Why is Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, suing Apple?