by Jean-Louis Gassée The new top-of-the-line Apple Silicon chip comes with one surprise and potentially very significant performance advantages in media-intensive and software development applications. The most interesting segment of Apple’s March 8 Event dealt with the M1 Ultra chips — plural intended and explained below. Today, we’ll focus on what this latest member of the M1 family means, on what it portends for future Apple products.

by Jean-Louis Gassée The ARM architecture has proven itself in many places, from IoT systems, to Raspberry Pi homebrew kits, to Apple Silicon chips. Today, we look at the ins and outs of Microsoft moving from Wintel to WinARM. When Apple began their ARM journey by acquiring P. A. Semi (née Palo Alto Semiconductor) in 2008, the reasons were obvious: ARM chips are simple, open, and flexible; and the architecture provides an inherent gain in thermal design power (in layman’s terms, it runs cool). Thirteen years…

by Jean-Louis Gassée With Apple Silicon, Apple has successfully completed a major transition. We now turn to the next ten-year horizon, to opportunities that may help the company replicate the growth it has enjoyed over the past decade. In Monday Note articles last month, we looked at the Plus and Minus of Tim Cook’s ten years as Apple CEO. It’s now time to indulge in a modicum of conjecture — not forecast — regarding what the next ten years may hold for the Cupertino company.

by Jean-Louis Gassée The rumored M1X processors that were supposed to power 14”and 16” MacBook Pro laptops turned out to be muscular M1 Max and M1 Pro chips. Intel fans reacted predictably but a more reasoned, authoritative evaluation came from an unexpected source. The first thing to say about the M1 Pro and M1 Max, Apple’s new homegrown processors, is that we misunderestimated them. The chips were a well-guarded secret; pre-announcement scuttlebutt mentioned an “M1X” chip, christened in the manner of the A12X that powers the third generation 2018 iPad…

by Jean-Louis Gassée Inevitably, the CEO of a company that’s as enormous and as visible as Apple becomes a target for the company’s failings. Today, we look at two areas where Tim Cook faces challenges. After last week’s encomium in which I lauded Tim Cook’s ten years as Apple CEO, I feel a bit hesitant to examine the other side of the coin. Apple is a complex company that belies easy bromides such as The iPhone Company or, a favorite of backwards-looking…

Apple: 10 Years Of Tim Cook. The Plus Side by Jean-Louis Gassée In this first of two Notes, we examine Tim Cook’s very positive impact on Apple in his first decade at the helm. We’ll take a more critical look and ask more questions about the company’s future next week. …

by Jean-Louis Gassée This week we use a simple, memorable device that helps us parse corporate verbiage, to sort the important and vital from the supportive, dispensable, and even parasitic. Last week’s Naive and Nostalgic Look At Apple’s Business Model, while suffering from the lingering effects of epidural sedation, still generated lively discussions of the company’s future, its business model and identity. Hoping to clarify matters, allow me to introduce a favorite of mine, the Pointed Quadruple:

by Jean-Louis Gassée This week we use a simple, memorable device that helps us parse corporate verbiage, to sort the important and vital from the supportive, dispensable, and even parasitic.A Last week’s Naive and Nostalgic Look At Apple’s Business Model, while suffering from the lingering effects of epidural sedation, still generated lively discussions of the company’s future, its business model and identity. Hoping to clarify matters, allow me to introduce a favorite of mine, the Pointed Quadruple:

by Jean-Louis Gassée In recent years, Apple has put great and generally well received emphasis on its Services business. Does this come at a cost to the device-oriented culture that made it a success? Once upon a time, Apple offered an easy-to-understand business model. The company made personal computers, small, medium, and large. Successfully positioned in the affordable luxury market sector, Apple devices sold well with healthy margins. …