I think it's funny that the main reason people cite the need to switch from Intel to ARM is power consumption. A big reason to stay on Intel is that a lot of people have real needs to run Windows software (whether in Bootcamp or a VM). Switchers feel a lot better jumping to the Mac if they could fall back to Windows if they wanted to.
Regarding battery life: The latest MacBooks get 9-12 hours of battery life. I haven't experienced battery anxiety on a Mac in a long time. In contrast, my iPhone is dead by the end of the day and watching it creep below 50% makes me start thinking about the nearest Lightning adapter (yes, I understand the Mac has a much larger battery and cell radios are power hungry).
Put another way, max power consumption on an iPad Air is ~11W[1]. The max power draw on a Haswell MacBook Air is 15-25W (~50% improvement in battery life from 2012 to 2013, which had 21-34W max draw)[2][3]. Given that Macs have more space available for batteries due to larger screens and the need for keyboard and trackpad, I don't see power consumption argument holding water.
I can't help thinking losing Windows now would be really significant for them. More specifically losing Office - if Windows on ARM keeps flaking can they rely on a first class Office build for the foreseeable future on ARM? Their office stuff is probably awesome but it's not office and it seems that could hurt a lot.
I recently switched back to Mac for the first time since 2006 and one of the factors in my decision is that I can run other x86 compatable OSes. I haven't felt the need to but it is nice to have the option.
Agreed entirely, save for that I develop my game on Windows via Boot Camp (and, when lazy, VMWare Fusion to mount the partition). An ARM Mac means I go to Linux and Windows full-time and, probably, decide not to give a damn about a Mac port.
Fortunately, because I really like OS X, I think it's vanishingly unlikely that Apple is this stupid.
Compatibility with x86 is a lot like why people don't buy purely electric cars. Being able to run another OS is much like being able to take a very long road trip.
That's why I like BMW's solution for their i3. It's a purely electric car, but if range anxiety is an issue, you can option a tiny petrol engine from a scooter that acts purely as a generator to charge the battery.
Regarding battery life: The latest MacBooks get 9-12 hours of battery life. I haven't experienced battery anxiety on a Mac in a long time. In contrast, my iPhone is dead by the end of the day and watching it creep below 50% makes me start thinking about the nearest Lightning adapter (yes, I understand the Mac has a much larger battery and cell radios are power hungry).
Put another way, max power consumption on an iPad Air is ~11W[1]. The max power draw on a Haswell MacBook Air is 15-25W (~50% improvement in battery life from 2012 to 2013, which had 21-34W max draw)[2][3]. Given that Macs have more space available for batteries due to larger screens and the need for keyboard and trackpad, I don't see power consumption argument holding water.
[1]: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7460/apple-ipad-air-review/3
[2]: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6063/macbook-air-13inch-mid-20...
[3]: http://www.anandtech.com/show/7180/apple-macbook-air-11-2013...