Apple hires ARM’s lead CPU architect amid rumors of ARM-Based Macs as early as next year

Joe Rossignol for MacRumors:

Multiple reports have indicated that Apple plans to transition to its own ARM-based processors in Macs starting as early as 2020, and the company recently made a significant hire that lends credence to that objective.
ARM’s lead CPU and system architect Mike Filippo joined Apple last month, based out of the Austin, Texas area, according to his LinkedIn profile. Filippo led the development of several chips at ARM between 2009 and 2019, including the Cortex-A76, Cortex-A72, Cortex-A57, and upcoming 7nm+ and 5nm chips…
Apple designing its own ARM-based processors for Macs would allow it to move away from Intel processors, which have frequently faced delays. In fact, sources within Intel reportedly confirmed to Axios that Apple does plan to transition to ARM-based processors in Macs starting next year.

Mark Gurman and Ian King for Bloomberg:

Prior to his work at ARM, Filippo was also a key designer at chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices and Intel Corp. ARM confirmed Filippo’s departure. Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment.
“Mike was a long-time valuable member of the ARM community,” a spokesman for the U.K.-based company said. “We appreciate all of his efforts and wish him well in his next endeavor.”
The company initiated a plan several years ago to replace Intel chips in its Mac computers with processors based on the ARM architecture as early as 2020. Filippo’s experience in more advanced chips like those in servers would assist in that effort.

MacDailyNews Take: We love it when a plan comes together!
Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild – and much faster/more efficient – ride!
Bring on the new Apple-designed, ARM-based Macs!
Apple has been, for years, building strength in the enterprise via BYOD and the rise of mobile which Apple ushered in with iPhone and iPad. “Compatibility with Windows” is not nearly as important today as it was even a few years ago… We expect to see Apple begin the ARM-based Mac transition with products like the MacBook and work their way up from there as the apps are brought over to ARM via Xcode and as the rest of the world continues to throw off the Microsoft Windows shackles into which they stupidly climbed so many years ago, lured, wrongly, solely by Windows PC sticker prices. – MacDailyNews, June 19, 2019