Freescale Contract, Intel Roadmap

blue2kdaveblue2kdave
Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
I am surprised no one has posted this yet. It appears that Apple has committed to the PowerPC platform for a little longer. I don't know what to make of the news, except to think that maybe these chips are not for traditional Apple products. Since Freescale specializes in embedded chips, perhaps this has something to do with a move into the living room with a set top box.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    boemaneboemane Posts: 311member
    Well, dont put more into it than there really is. If you bought a PowerBook/Mac Mini/iBook in 2005 with a 3-year AppleCare deal, Apple has to make sure that it has access to new CPUs, etc, so that they can fix it if the CPU breaks. I expect this why Apple made this deal.



    Note that the deal does not put any obligation on Apple to accually purchase the CPUs, but the Freescale is under obligation to produce them if Apple wants to buy them.



    Also, I do think there are threads about this here at AI.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    imiloaimiloa Posts: 187member
    >>> Note that the deal does not put any obligation on Apple to accually purchase the CPUs.





    Exactly. My thought was Apple is just covering their ass, in case there are issues with Intel production. They've been bitten too often by the PPC production woes, so are probably very paranoid.



    Note how unfavorable the terms are to Freescale. They must deliver at Apple's whim, but Apple has no obligation to buy.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    thinkingdifferentthinkingdifferent Posts: 1,604member
    From the filing:



    Quote:

    "Apple is under no obligation to purchase Freescale microprocessors other than work in progress that was in place at the time the agreement was executed" on Aug. 22, Apple said in Friday's filing.



    Although, what happens if Intel does suffer production problems? Also, how is Apple going to handle replacing defective equipment in product lines that have been migrated to Intel chips?
  • Reply 4 of 7
    henriokhenriok Posts: 537member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ThinkingDifferent

    Although, what happens if Intel does suffer production problems?



    They probably still will have more chips available than what IBM and Freescale combined would ever produce..
  • Reply 5 of 7
    t'hain esh kelcht'hain esh kelch Posts: 1,274member
    The most interesting part about this is though, that with a 2007-Intel-transition Apple has to supply broken machines until 2010 with Freescale processors. Why does this deal only go to 2008 then? Maybe the Intel transition is a bit further down the road than we think..
  • Reply 6 of 7
    mjteixmjteix Posts: 563member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by T'hain Esh Kelch

    The most interesting part about this is though, that with a 2007-Intel-transition Apple has to supply broken machines until 2010 with Freescale processors. Why does this deal only go to 2008 then? Maybe the Intel transition is a bit further down the road than we think..



    Or that it concerns only G4 processors which are built by Freescale (as opposed to the G5s built by IBM). That could meant that as jan 1st 2006 there will be no more G4 computers sold by Apple. Now two/three possibilities:

    - PowerBooks, iBooks, eMacs and minis will get G5s (as from some rumors) before or on jan 1st 2006

    - PowerBooks, iBooks, eMacs and minis will get Intel's Yonah (as from some rumors) before or on jan 1st 2006

    - A mix of the above

    No?
  • Reply 7 of 7
    thinkingdifferentthinkingdifferent Posts: 1,604member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by mjteix



    - PowerBooks, iBooks, eMacs and minis will get Intel's Yonah (as from some rumors) before or on jan 1st 2006





    This is more likely. Why would Apple spend the time and money on migrating G4 systems to use the G5?
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