Rumors are the biggest reason is heat and power demands which have caused problems with the MacBook line of Apple products. ARM processors are simpler and generally run a lot cooler and require far less power.
Nah, typical Apple 'rumors'. It's Apple's usual shit of wanting to have full control of everything that goes into their machines. Don't get me wrong, there is a huge advantage to having total and absolute control over everything to do with your product. It's possible to make an extremely stable product with hardware and software that are guaranteed to have 100% compatibility even at the lowest level.
But if we are being honest, this is about profit and control; nothing more. Well, okay - I will give them a little bit of credit. Arm processors do run cooler. However, this, in my opinion is a HUGE step backwards. ARM processors are designed to be power efficient and it is where they excel! However, they are out of their depth if they think that they can compete with super high performance processors which is Intel's expertise.
Apple desktop computers were practically on their deathbeds when they were insisting on using their own painfully slow 'cool running' processors. Intel made the 'Mac Pro' a serious and competitive machine! In fact, the Intel Cheese Graters are still wildly popular.
Disclaimer: I own 2 Macbook Pros (for travel and work), a Macbook pro (My music studio), and about 4 high end PC desktops (2 Intel, 2 AMD Threadrippers). I am not biased, I love my Apple computers. But there is nothing more infuriating as a tech than actually dealing with Apple when there is a hardware problem.
You should check out Louis Rossmann on youtube if you haven't seen him before. He is a Mac repair tech in New York who posts great videos on how to fix all kinds of hardware problems (all the way down to the surface mount components on the mainboards), as well as discussing the BS he has to deal with with Apple. He also talks about dumb motherboard layouts on various MacBook Pro models that cause overheating. Incidentally, he fixes problems in 5 minutes with a soldering iron that Apple Geniuses claim would require a full motherboard replacement. Good stuff!
I do believe the heat and thermal throttling complaints of their top tier MacBooks are a huge factor but I am well aware of their need to control and own everything as well. If Intel was performing well enough they would have negotiated a deal that would be worth continuing to use them.
This is a power move no doubt.
I know and love Louis Rossmann, very interesting watching him even though I don't really care about component level repair.
I have experienced this with both my MacBooks - especially with resource hungry applications they start to feel like I could fry an egg on them!
With the continued desire to make these things even thinner there reaches a point that there will have to be a trade-off. Who knows, maybe they've had some huge breakthrough with their processors that I'm not aware of. I would be happy with that!
Maybe it's because I grew in the 80s, but I actually like my laptop to have a little bit of thickness to it. I actually really like the size and weight of the 2013 era MB Pro 15" models. I just like the substantial, tactile feeling. Perhaps it is just psychological and showing of my age?
There is no question an ARM processor properly designed will be far cooler and likely not throttle. They already did the bulk of the work for the iPhone and iPad and likely planned this all along.