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Apple Could Use ARM Coprocessors for Three Updated Mac Models (techcrunch.com)
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple could be working on three new Mac models for this year. From a report: All three of them could feature an ARM coprocessor to improve security. Apple isn't switching to ARM chipsets altogether. There will still be an Intel CPU in every Mac, but with a second ARM processor. Currently, the MacBook Pro features a T1 chip while the iMac Pro features a T2 chip. On the MacBook Pro, the ARM coprocessor handles the Touch ID sensor and the Touch Bar. This way, your fingerprint is never stored on your laptop's SSD drive -- it remains on the T1 secure enclave. The Intel CPU only gets a positive response when a fingerprint is validated. The iMac Pro goes one step further and uses the T2 to replace many discrete controllers. The T2 controls your stereo speakers, your internal microphone, the fans, the camera and internal storage.
For the most part it is. For some crazy reason we moved to integrated systems, back in the 1990's. I think it was because the OS started to support software drivers, so devices can be made much more cheaply, because things like controller boards, or supporting an open protocol can be skipped. A modem is just a DtoA and AtoD converter, which could had been made cheaply. However the expensive part of them was the Hayes AT command processing, which boosted its cost way up. However if you have the driver handle the stuff, you can release a cheap modem (which could probably double as a sound card)
This came at a cost of security though. Integrated means your OS which sees all that is going on. And any security flaw can effect everything.
Today we are getting more attention in security, also the price for components are getting cheaper and smaller too. So it seems that we are going back to this method. Perhaps we may get to a point where these things can be on a removable socket again too, so we can upgrade and repair again.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Watch for a forthcoming OS that will run macOS apps and iOS apps simultaneously, with a touchscreen for at least the laptop models. At first such a machine will primarily for developers, replacing the iOS simulator that is now part of Xcode, but we may then see the long-awaited convergence of laptops and tablets.