Rumor has it that Apple is looking to move away from Intel processors in future revisions of their Mac computers. The tech giant reportedly wants to adopt custom processors like those used in the iPhone and iPad for future models according to people familiar with the subject as reported by Bloomberg.
Researchers are apparently confident enough in their designs that they believe they'll be able to power full-sized computers at some point. A change is unlikely to occur anytime soon but some engineers say it will happen eventually as mobile devices continue to do more tasks traditionally reserved for the PC.
Later rather than sooner has to be good news for Intel. Such a move would no doubt have an impact on the chip maker, especially now as they are experiencing a slowdown due to a sluggish market and the economy.
According to one person, if Tim Cook wants to offer consumers a seamless experience across all platforms -phones, notebooks, tablets, and even televisions - it would be easier to do so with a unified chip architecture. It's worth mentioning that this particular source specifically mentioned 2017.
Apple first began using Intel processors for their various lines of Mac computers in 2005. As The Verge points out, Cupertino's transition from PowerPC processors to Intel chips went very smoothly and there's no reason expect a similar switch from Intel to their own in-house design wouldn't go just as well.
Of course, it's little more than pure speculation at this point. We've heard rumors of Apple plans before that eventually never materialized (like an AMD-powered MacBook Air) so be sure to take this with a healthy dose of salt.