Obvious Diversion

Reason One: Laptops

If there was ever a reason, this is it. G6 processors are pretty nice pieces of hardware, but they’re hot and power hungry beasts not suitable for portable use. Intel, on the other hand, has some incredibly powerful chips that are fuel efficient enough to give us some lasting battery power and small case designs.

Reason Two: A failure of IBM to live up to their promises

We we’re supposed to see 3Ghz G5s a long time ago, and it just hasn’t happened. Partnering with Intel, the largest chip manufacturer in the world, will give Apple a sort of security they haven’t seem to have gotten from IBM and certainly didn’t get from Motorola.

Reason Three: Future devices

If Apple is interested in exploring new device categories that can run the Mac OS, from tablets of various sizes and uses to who knows what else, Intel’s more diverse offerings may be a more attractive option. It’s not like the iPod uses an IBM processor.

Apple Would Still Be Apple

A platform transition like this will have it’s bumpy times. Developers will have to adjust and recompile and possibly reprogram at times, but it’s very much a survivable thing for a company who’s market share is growing at a steady pace.

Apple’s goal is to sell a whole experience, not just a processor. That experience is it’s impressive operating system, smart hardware design and articulate applications. Whether that experience is run by a really fast Intel processor or a really fast IBM one, I can’t imagine we should really be concerned. Whatever is revealed this week, as long as it’s an Apple product on powerful hardware, we’ll be happy.