MacBook ARM leak hints at delays — but we're still hopeful

MacBook Air 2020
(Image credit: Future)

Apple rarely divulges info about upcoming devices so we took it as gospel when the company said the first ARM-powered MacBook would arrive in 2020. 

That might have been a mistake. 

Twitter user KomiyaLeaks, citing unnamed sources, says there will be no "October event" in which Apple unveils a MacBook with Apple Silicon (via Tom's Guide). At first glance, it might sound like Komiya is implying there won't be an ARM-powered MacBook this year, but take the claim word-for-word and it becomes more ambiguous.  

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What Komiya specifically states is that the MacBook won't be at an October event, not that it won't arrive in 2020 altogether. 

It's possible Apple holds a different event for the MacBook with Apple silicon, or that the laptop is released quietly via a press release online (although that seems unlikely given the importance of the product). Whatever the case, you should take this rumor with a healthy dose of skepticism. 

Apple says the first ARM-based Mac will be ready later this year, so until the company says otherwise, we're inclined to believe it. If you haven't kept up with Apple's plan, the company is ready to abandon Intel to make the first MacBook laptops running on custom ARM-based CPUs, like those in the iPad Pro or iPhone 12.

Not only will the new direction allow Apple to strip its reliance on Intel but it'll further improve the interoperability between the iPhone, iPad and MacBook. Apple is now working with developers to bring programs built on x86 to a new architecture, a challenge Microsoft struggled with when it released Windows 10 on ARM.

Phillip Tracy

Phillip Tracy is the assistant managing editor at Laptop Mag where he reviews laptops, phones and other gadgets while covering the latest industry news. After graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Phillip became a tech reporter at the Daily Dot. There, he wrote reviews for a range of gadgets and covered everything from social media trends to cybersecurity. Prior to that, he wrote for RCR Wireless News covering 5G and IoT. When he's not tinkering with devices, you can find Phillip playing video games, reading, traveling or watching soccer.