Apple recently unveiled a new MacBook Air with its self-developed SoC (System-on-Chip), the “M3.” The MacBook Air is one of Apple’s most popular PC products, but this new product was quietly launched without a separate introduction event.
Despite the quiet launch, there was a highlight that caught the eye. It was the phrase Apple used to introduce this new MacBook Air. Apple described the M3 MacBook Air as “the world’s best consumer notebook for AI functionality.” This is the first time Apple directly mentions “AI (Artificial Intelligence)” when introducing its PC products.
Apple explained, “With the M3 chip, all Mac product lines are emerging as excellent platforms for AI functionality.” This means they can run optimized AI models, such as a large language model (LLM), through apps that provide AI functionality based on superior chip performance.
AI is the “trend” in the PC market
In the current PC market, AI PCs are emerging as a trend. Not only Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, but also many PC manufacturers such as Lenovo, HP, Asus, Acer, etc., are competing by releasing AI notebooks. As the release of AI PCs rapidly increases, the outlook for the PC market is brightening.
Market research firm Gartner predicts that this year’s total PC shipments will reach 250.4 million units, an increase of 3.5% compared to last year. Another market research firm, Canalys, predicts that more than 170 million AI PCs will be shipped by 2027.
Considering last year’s PC market atmosphere, this is an entirely different outlook. According to Canalys, the previous year’s total global PC shipments were 247 million units, a 13% decrease compared to last year. The top 5 companies, including Lenovo, HP, Acer, Apple, and Asus, experienced negative growth.
The growth of the PC market is based on AI. Gartner predicts, “On-device AI will inject vitality into this year’s PC marketing and maintain the existing expected replacement cycle, partially offsetting the negative impact of unstable socio-economic conditions.” According to Gartner, this year’s expected shipment of AI PCs is 54.5 million units, 22% of the total number of PCs.
Concerns of newcomers… in fact, number 1?
Apple is interpreted as having directly mentioned AI to actively jump into the growing AI PC market. Media evaluated it as “an interesting change since there was no such phrase at the time of the iMac release last October” and “to compete with other products that highlight AI PCs.”
Some view Apple’s direct mention of AI for the first time, so Apple’s response to the AI PC market is late. However, Apple was the first to equip a PC processor with an AI semiconductor. It’s the “M series,” Apple’s self-developed PC chip that was first unveiled in 2020. Even smartphones were faster. Apple first embedded a neural engine in the “A11 Bionic” chip installed in the iPhone X in 2017.
Apple, supplied with PC semiconductors from Intel since 2005, attempted to “Exit Intel” and has been developing and using its own chips since 2020. This is the so-called “Apple Silicon.” Apple unveiled its first Apple Silicon chip, the M1, based on the A-series design in November 2020.
The M1 is a System-on-Chip explicitly designed for desktops and laptops. It integrates various chips needed to run a computer. System-on-chip is a technology-intensive semiconductor that implements a system with multiple functions on one chip. The M1 has a structure where an 8-core CPU (Central Processing Unit), an 8-core GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a 16-core neural engine are combined.
The point to note here is the neural engine. The neural engine is an AI-specific processor developed by Apple. It performs the same role as the “Neural Processing Unit (NPU)” installed in the “Intel Core Ultra Processor,” a notebook and PC processor released by Intel this year. Even leaving performance aside, Apple has been improving AI technology ahead of its competitors by using the term neural engine instead of AI.
At the shareholders’ meeting at the end of last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook mentioned that “AI can be driven with Apple’s own chip built into the MacBook.”
The M3 chip installed in this new MacBook Air is a 3rd generation M chip, a System-on-Chip based on a 3nm process. It is up to 60% faster than the MacBook Air equipped with the M1. Apple is confident that “Based on the M3 chip equipped with an improved 16-core neural engine and on-device machine learning-capable CPU·GPU accelerators, the MacBook Air will establish itself as the world’s best consumer notebook for AI functionality.”
Will the questions be solved at WWDC?
Nevertheless, “Apple AI” is currently under scrutiny in the market. Bloomberg reported on the 5th that pressure is growing to disclose Apple AI’s progress. Although CEO Tim Cook stated that “we are expanding massive investments in AI,” this is seen as not enough.
Pessimism about the stock price is also deepening. In fact, unlike other representative tech stocks this year, Apple is weak. It has fallen 12% this year and has been pushed back by Microsoft in market capitalization.
The market focuses on the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. Apple will likely announce generative AI technology or its large language model in the industry at WWDC.
It is also reported that Apple has given up on the development of the Apple Car, which it has been working on for ten years, and moved most of the related employees to the AI department, making the theory reliable. Let’s watch whether Apple, which started mentioning “AI” with MacBook Air, will unveil a concrete AI strategy at WWDC.
Most Commented