
Imagine removing the GPU and all but one efficiency core and using that area for performance cores - maybe sixteen of them one chip. What I do know is if the real estate used by the GPU on the M1 was used for more performance cores that could be a really screaming machine. Who knows what GPU they will use? For all I know, it could be Intel's. I think it will be very interesting to see what Apple's machines with discrete GPUs look like. I would bet good money that Microsoft has porting efforts underway at this very moment. This is only the first variant of the M1 from Apple and there are likely to be several more and THOSE are where Microsoft will be more likely to make money. I tend to think it won't be a money-making proposition for them immediately BUT the technology gained will be useful in the longer term.

It is up to MS to decide whether they think it is worth the effort to sell Windows for M1s.

They will view it as a business decision for Microsoft and it is. Appears to be an easy thing to do given the existing x86/64 user base.Īs long as there are Intel based Macs, expect to see the Mac user experience to be another 2X cost increase (if one needs, or wants, both x86 and ARM based Macs at the same time).Īpple has very deep pockets just like Intel, so that Apple will likely need to pay for a Windows experience, both for the OS and 3rd party applications.Īpple is not likely to pay Microsoft for that. (2) 3rd party Windows applications ported to Windows port on M1 ARM.īootCamp allowed Windows and 3rd party applications to run directly on x86/64 Intel hardware afaik.

For several years down the road, they will likely continue to use x86 Macs, but at some point, those PCs will get outdated or will simply break down, which is when they will have to replace them.Įverettfsargent said:(1) Windows ported to M1 ARM. Without doubt, Intel-based Macs have gotten quite popular among such people over the last 14 years. There are people who use Macs for most of their workloads, but require Windows for applications that are not available for MacOS. Preliminary benchmark results of the latest Macs based on the M1 show that the chip can beat its x86 rivals, albeit in MacOS and in select applications/workloads. Another intriguing aspect is how Apple's M1 and its successors will perform in Windows.

There are several ways to make Apple GPUs work under Windows, but at present it is unclear what Microsoft can do with Apple's hardware in terms of APIs and drivers. Apple's MacOS exclusively uses Metal API for graphics processors, which is why Apple's GPUs are developed with Metal in mind. In order to make Apple Silicon-based Macs offer the same features and performance in Windows and MacOS, Microsoft will need to make Apple's IP, including GPU, neural engine, and special-purpose accelerators, work in Windows, which requires compatible APIs (application programming interfaces) and drivers.
