Apple switches to own chips for Mac computers, dials up privacy features

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said it marked the beginning of a major new era for a product line powered the company's rise in the 1980s.

Apple Inc on Monday said it will switch to its own chips for its Mac computers, ending a nearly 15-year reliance on Intel Corp to supply processors for its flagship laptops and desktop.

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said it marked the beginning of a major new era for a product line powered the company's rise in the 1980s and its resurgence in the late 1990s.

"Silicon is at the heart of our hardware," Cook said during a virtual keynote address recorded at the company's Cupertino, California headquarters for its annual developer conference.

"Having a world class silicon design team is a game changer."

The silicon switch brings the Mac into line with the company's iPhone and iPads, which already use Apple designed chips.

The news came at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference. The conference has gained new prominence since paid services sold through the App Store have become central to the company's revenue growth as consumers have slowed the growth of iPhone upgrades.

Apple takes a 15 per cent to 30 per cent cut of the sales developers make through the App Store, which is the only way to distribute software onto Apple's mobile devices.

Those fees, and Apple's strict app review process, have come under antitrust scrutiny in the United States and Europe, where regulators last week unveiled a formal probe into the company.