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Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is pushing to define the future of PCs after announcing three brand-new Mac computers on Tuesday. The big pivot? They are now powered by Apple’s M1 chip instead of Intel processors.

The brand-new Macs powered by Apple's new M1 Arm-based CPUs include a 13-inch MacBook Air, a 13-inch MacBook Pro, and a Mac mini. The MacBook Air is now only available with Apple silicon chips.

"As a system on a chip (SoC), M1 combines numerous powerful technologies into a single chip, and features a unified memory architecture for dramatically improved performance and efficiency," Apple said in a press release.

This signaled the long-expected breakup of Apple and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), marking both the end of one of the tech industry’s most prominent partnerships and Apple’s resolve to take more control of how its products are built.

Apple’s move is a big blow for Intel

Global research and advisory firm Gartner noted that Apple is the fourth-largest PC maker. Using its own chips in its entire lineup of laptops and desktops is a blow for Intel.

The new Macs were introduced first, as part of Apple’s two-year transition away from Intel chips to its own Arm-based silicon.

“We believe Intel-powered PCs—like those based on 11th Gen Intel Core mobile processors—provide global customers the best experience in the areas they value most, as well as the most open platform for developers,” Intel said in a statement.

Apple is expanding its abilities and reducing its dependence on major partners

Apple CEO Tim Cook said that the company has a “long-term strategy of owning and controlling the primary technologies behind the products we make.”

The Cupertino-based tech giant me huge investments in its silicon department including major acquisitions. In 2008, its $278 million purchase of P. A. Semi started the department. In 2019,  it made a $1 billion investment for part of Intel’s modem business.

“Apple Silicon is totally in keeping with the strategic goal of Apple to really control an entire stack,” CCS Insight research director Wayne Lam said in a CNBC report. “Now in computing, they own everything from silicon to the software to how the user moves the mouse around, so it’s tremendously integrated.”

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