Apple is reportedly looking into launching new Mac versions with ARM on board and a Magic trackpad built into the system's keyboard.
Moreover, the company is reportedly working on a new version of OS X as well, which should be compatible with these upcoming ARM machines.
The news comes from a new report [translated] from French website MacBidouille. The publication claims to have learned from its own sources that Apple is currently developing three machines with this rumored configuration. More specifically, the company is reportedly working on the aforementioned iMac, as well as a Mac Mini and a 13-inch MacBook, which will most likely launch as a MacBook Air model.
The iMac and MacBook will reportedly have "4 or 8" quad-core ARM64 processors, while the Mac Mini will have only four cores. Nothing is official at this point, but the publication claims that Apple is far enough into development that these devices could become official soon. At this time, however, Apple is reportedly concerned that moving from Intel to ARM too soon could negatively impact its entire Mac lineup, therefore it has decided to keep things private for now.
On the other hand, while such a shift would arguably shake things up, it would not be unprecedented. Back in 2005, Apple made a bold move and announced that it was ditching the PowerPC architecture it was using at the time in favor of Intel X86 chips for new Macs.
Fast forward to present date, Apple has a popular lineup of devices, but the idea of shifting to another type of processor doesn't seem too farfetched. Apple has already been designing its own ARM-based processors (its A4-A7 line) for its iOS devices ever since it launched its first-generation iPad.
If this report turns out to be accurate and Apple is indeed looking to launch Macs based on ARM, it could mean that the company may finally be ready to put its Macs and iPads on a more level playing field.
It all remains in the rumor state, however, as nothing is officially confirmed at this point. As always in such cases, it is highly recommended to take everything with a grain of salt until an official announcement.
