Sources Say Apple Originally Planned AMD Chip For MacBook Air

Several media sources (here's PC Magazine's version), all seemingly based on an account at SemiAccurate citing (but not naming) "multiple sources," report that Apple originally planned an AMD-chip based MacBook Air, rather than the Intel-based version that emerged later ("Plan B," says the report).

Comments

Not Sure This is Newsworthy

[ninetyninebottles]

I guess I'm just not sure why people are writing articles about this. Apple of course has prototypes with various chipsets. I find it interesting that they likely bailed on AMD because they were not up to the volume requirements, but that's not news so much as a market assessment people in the computer supply chain logistics business probably already knew.

Re:Not Sure This is Newsworthy

[Doc Ruby]

You don't know why people write articles that you admit you find interesting?

You judge Slashdot articles on whether computer supply chain logistics readers already know the stories?

Have another bottle of beer.

Re:Not Sure This is Newsworthy

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

The "story", in this case, is not that 'Apple had a prototype' but the claim that AMD was Plan A and that the intel Air shipped for volume reasons.

It's been a while since AMD was plan A for a thin-n-light laptop design...

CPU & GPU performance not relevant

[perpenso]

The AMD chips had a significantly better GPU, at the cost of a slightly slower CPU (which is a good tradeoff).

In the context of something like a MacBook Air power consumption is a far greater factor than CPU or GPU performance.

Re:CPU & GPU performance not relevant

[phantomfive]

In the context of something like a MacBook Air power consumption is a far greater factor than CPU or GPU performance.

I'm not sure why you think this, if they were looking for power consumption, wouldn't they go with the Atom?

I can tell you at least anecdotally, the last time I was looking at a laptop I really wanted something like an Air because of its nice slender shape, but I decided against it because it is underpowered compared to most other laptops I was considering, and I am ok with a shorter battery life.

Re:CPU & GPU performance not relevant

[allanw]

Atoms are friggin slow compared to a regular CPU and should only be used for sub-$400 netbooks, not $1000 laptops. One of the great things about the Air is that it doesn't use some dumbed down CPU, it's just a regular Sandy Bridge clocked down.

Re:CPU & GPU performance not relevant

[Kumiorava]

Sure, but you also managed to overlook the Macbook Air benefits compared to your excellent Asus model. First of all Macbook Air is just under 3lbs, while Asus is 3.7lbs. That weight difference alone explains some of the hardware differences and design decisions. Additionally Macbook Air has better resolution on the display, which is a huge plus in my eyes, 1440x900 compared to 1366x768. Add the ultra light power adapter of Macbook Air to the mix and you get portable system with you well under 4lbs.

Second area where I believe Macbook Air will prevail is heat management. Try using all those goodies loaded in Asus for an extended period of time and the laptop becomes unbearably hot and reduces battery life significantly. Macbook Air also heats but I believe less so because of lower powered CPU and no dedicated GPU. Adding dedicated GPU or more CPU power is less appealing on ultra portable than on a desktop computer and should be always weighted on the down side they create.

Nice things Macbook Air has that are more rarely found in competing products: Magsafe power port, OSX Lion, Thunderbolt port, excellent microphone, and great webcam.

This would have been great for..

[ClaraBow]

Hackintosh community as drivers for AMD based netbooks and laptops would've become available. So wish AMD had the resources to meant high volume demands. Maybe next time!

Re:AMD always considered ...

[Baloroth]

It's one thing to flirt. It is entirely another to be actually planing on using them, which by most accounts Apple was. I don't think this was just a gambit. AMD also would have given them a couple of advantages. Far superior GPU and better power efficiency (so I have heard, anyways), mainly. Probably would have been cheaper too, although that is just a guess.