Apple Rumored to Abandon Intel for Its Own Chip

Intel has not been able to ignore rumors that Apple is considering switching some of its Mac's Intel processors to its own A-series of mobile chips, saying it would be a remiss to be dismissive of the rumors.

According to Apple Insider, the claims came on Friday from the Japanese site Macotakara, who successfully predicted the release of the iPad 2 in March, saying that new thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Airs powered by an A5 processor were being tested.

Greg Welch, director of Intel's Ultrabook Group told CNet News.com that Intel is taking the potential threat seriously and hopes to continue to innovate its way into Apple's product portfolio

We hear the same rumors and it would be remiss of us to be dismissive, he said. We endeavor to innovate so they'll continue to look to us as a supplier.

The A5 chip in question is the same chip used for iPad 2, which has shown a performance better than expected.

The report published on the Japanese site also noted that it was not clear whether this system was running Apple's lightweight iOS operating system, found on the iPhone and iPad, or the full-fledged Mac OS X operating system. It also mentioned that a switch to a processor based on the ARM architecture would require developers to modify their existing applications.

According to Apple Insider the rumors come a week after a separate report that claimed Apple is looking to transition its laptops to ARM processors as soon as possible.