The Apple–Intel architecture is an unofficial name used for Macintosh personal computers developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. that use Intel x86 processors, rather than the PowerPC and Motorola 68000 ("68k") series processors used in their predecessors or the ARM-based Apple silicon SoCs used in their successors. As Apple changed the architecture of its products, they changed the firmware from the Open Firmware used on PowerPC-based Macs to the Intel-designed Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI). With the change in processor architecture to x86, Macs gained the ability to boot into x86-native operating systems (such as Microsoft Windows), while Intel VT-x brought near-native virtualization with macOS as the host OS.
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Apple silicon in the context of Macintosh
Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh apple. The current product lineup includes the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro laptops, and the iMac, Mac Mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro desktops. Macs are currently sold with Apple's UNIX-based macOS operating system, which is not licensed to other manufacturers and exclusively bundled with Mac computers. This operating system replaced Apple's original Macintosh operating system, which has variously been named System, Mac OS, and Classic Mac OS.
Jef Raskin conceived the Macintosh project in 1979, which was usurped and redefined by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1981. The original Macintosh was launched in January 1984 at US$2,495 (equivalent to $7,600 in 2024), after Apple's "1984" advertisement during Super Bowl XVIII. A series of incrementally improved models followed, sharing the same integrated case design. In 1987, the Macintosh II brought color graphics, but priced as a professional workstation and not a personal computer. Beginning in 1994 with the Power Macintosh, the Mac transitioned from Motorola 68000 series processors to PowerPC. Macintosh clones by other manufacturers were also briefly sold afterwards. The line was refreshed in 1998 with the launch of the iMac G3, reinvigorating the line's competitiveness against commodity IBM PC compatibles. Macs transitioned to Intel x86 processors by 2006 along with new sub-product lines MacBook and Mac Pro. Since 2020, Macs have transitioned to Apple silicon chips based on ARM64.
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Apple silicon in the context of MacBook Pro (Apple silicon)
The MacBook Pro with Apple silicon is a line of Mac notebook computers introduced in November 2020 by Apple. It is the higher-end model of the MacBook family, sitting above the consumer-focused MacBook Air, and is currently sold with 14-inch (360 mm) and 16-inch (410 mm) screens. All models use Apple-designed M series systems on a chip.
The first MacBook Pro with Apple silicon, based on the Apple M1, was released in November 2020.
Apple silicon in the context of MacOS Tahoe
macOS Tahoe (version 26) is the twenty-second and current major release of Apple's macOS operating system. The successor to macOS Sequoia (macOS 15), it was announced at WWDC 2025 on June 9, 2025, and its first developer beta was released the same day. It was released on September 15, 2025.
Tahoe is the final version of macOS that supports Macs with Intel processors; the 2020 iMac, the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, the 2020 4-port 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the 2019 Mac Pro models are supported. Future versions will work only on Macs with Apple silicon systems on a chip (SoCs). It is the first version of macOS since Mac OS X Snow Leopard that cannot be upgraded from an older version via the Mac App Store; upgrading it is exclusively available through the System Settings software update preference pane, as is the case with iOS.
Apple silicon in the context of Mac transition to Apple silicon
The Mac transition to Apple silicon was the process of switching the central processing units (CPUs) of Apple's line of Mac computers from Intel's x86-64 processors to Apple-designed Apple silicon ARM64 systems-on-a-chip.
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced a "two-year transition plan" to Apple silicon on June 22, 2020. The first Macs with Apple-designed systems on a chip were released that November; the last with an Intel processor, the Mac Pro, was discontinued in June 2023, completing the transition in three years.