Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

What happened when Apple outperformed Intel and AMD with PowerPC? People kept buying Windows PCs.

What if Apple outperforms both Intel and AMD with their Apple Silicon? People will keep buying Windows and ChromeOS PCs.

AWS is testing the server market right now with Graviton2, basically a drop-in replacement for x86 that's faster and cheaper. It's going to be fascinating to watch and I hope AWS reports architecture usage share over time.



Is graviton2 really faster? I dont remember the exact details but didnt they still have a (long) way until reaching intel/amd performance? If i remember correctly they are currently only interesting because of their price.



From running my asp .net core api on Intel vs Graviton 2, graviton turned out to be roughly 15% faster. But the SSR of vue turned out to be roughly 10% slower.


That is almost 20 years past, many things have changed. Most importantly, the iPhone has happened. I am not claiming, that Apple completely takes over the PC market, just that the market share could considerably rise. Having the better processors and iPhone compatibility could do the trick.


Apple didn't make PowerPC chips. That's a huge difference.

First, Apple wasn't a supplier. If Silicon takes off, they could become a supplier. Second, the reason they're switching to Silicon is the same reason they switched from IBM to Intel - the chip suppliers didn't react to the changing consumer landscape.

By making consumer devices, Apple is much more in tune with that landscape than IBM/Intel is. They can adapt chips much better and won't be handcuffed by chip suppliers in the future.


Moving to their own chips also allows for much more aggressive pricing.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2026 batch! Applications are open till May 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: