Apple to Bring in ARM Port for Mac OS X

Apparently Apple is planning something big and it’s pretty clear from a report by a Dutch intern. The report sheds some light on the fact that Apple just took about 12 weeks to shift or port the operating system kernel of Mac OS X from Intel to ARM. The significance of ARM will be clearer if you can consider the news that Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system will be featuring in a few ARM based tablet devices, due to be released soon.

What’s behind the idea?

Taking into account Apple’s new idea which ported Mac OS X kernel to ARM, we can safely assume that certain Apple computers is going to have some major updates, in the Operating system of course. We can expect upcoming Apple laptops to have a change in the operating system. Instead of running in iOS, which the iPad and iPhones use, ARM based Apple laptops might come featuring the Mac OS X operating system – the Apple desktop operating system.

One other fact about ARM is that they don’t require too much power, unlike Intel. This means, if the ARM based Mac OS X powered Apple laptops really comes into life, they will be having a great battery life. With the build of a MacBook and low power requirements of the ARM, the new Apple Mac OS X Laptop concept can be given a smaller, slimmer battery, which would considerably reduce the weight of the device as well.

Mac OS X in ARM – The beginning:

It was in 2010 that Apple’s Platform Technologies group started working on the Mac OS X kernel – Darwin, so as to make it run in ARM architecture. Reportedly, within 12 weeks they managed to port Darwin to an ARMv5 compatible processor and made the Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard operating system run in it. But this idea does have competition obviously as Intel is working on increasing the demands for its architecture by improving the horsepower to impress users. However, ARM architecture will also be getting improvements in the horsepower with its low power consumption feature in tact.

Microsoft’s change of plans by making Windows 8 compatible with Intel and ARM platforms is basically intended to stabilize the shrinking market of Microsoft desktop PCs in the West and the East. But Apple doesn't face such problems as Apple computers are apparently the best there is in the business, selling millions of units. Yet they are porting to ARM and considering the use of Mac OS X in their laptops. Apple has always been two steps ahead of the other competing firms and this is exactly why Apple is still at the top. Hopefully, more details on Apple’s plan to run Mac OS X in laptops would be unveiled soon.