The rumors of Apple planning on launching an ARM-based Mac computer isn’t new, but there seem to be an uptick in reports of late that suggests that Apple’s efforts are getting more serious with prototypes already being made. Now a new report from Oregon Live (via 9to5Mac) is fueling those speculations.
According to the report, they claim that Apple has been quietly poaching employees from the likes of companies such as Intel. The report also claims that Apple has a secret hardware engineering lab in Washington County, and that the employees Apple has been poaching have held senior research/engineering roles at Intel.
Given that Intel’s primary business is in making processors, it is safe to assume that Apple’s interest in these employees has to do with processors. Like we said, the rumors having been suggesting that Apple could be working on an ARM-based Mac computer so the hiring of engineers and researchers with extensive processor development knowledge makes sense.
That being said, assuming such a computer does become a reality, Apple would not be the first company to launch ARM computers. We have previously seem companies such as ASUS and Dell launch laptops that are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chipsets, so such devices already exist.
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