Apple Testing an ARM (A5) Powered MacBook Air?

1392481298
Mac Otakara claims that Apple is presently testing an A5 powered MacBook Air.

And additionally, an anonymous source told more information, Apple already made test equipment of Thunderbolt MacBook Air driven by A5 processor.

According to this source who saw live A5 MacBook Air actually, this test machine performed better than expected.

The A5 processor is an ARM-based processor that Apple uses in the iPad 2. Mac Otakara is uncertain what operating system this experimental machine was running. They also add that Quanta Computer manufactured this test-drive machine.

This news comes weeks after another rumor claiming that Apple is planning on transitioning from Intel to ARM-based processors on their laptops in the not too distant future. Most people had dismissed that rumor due to the compatibility issues that would be introduced with such a transition. Another major issue is that while ARM processors are more power efficient, they presently offer significantly lower performance than their Intel counterparts.

The Japanese blog has had some accurate information in the past, being the first to describe some of the new physical characteristics of the iPad 2. It is certainly plausible that Apple might be testing such combinations in their labs, though its unclear if/when Apple might actually decide to introduce such a machine.

Related Roundup: MacBook Air
Related Forum: MacBook Air

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...

Top Rated Comments

JesterJJZ Avatar
192 months ago
A5 Powerbooks next Tuesday! :apple:
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
asdf542 Avatar
192 months ago
Geekbench processor scores for lulz:
A5 (http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/417221) - 747
1.4 GHz Core 2 Duo (http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/408434) (Penryn) - 2255
1.4 GHz Core i5 (http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/413524) (Sandy Bridge)- 4519

Maybe just an A5 for graphics and openCL purposes since A5 are fully (CPU and GPU) compatible with the standard where Intel current designs only support openCL on the CPU.
Ivy Bridge will support OpenCL on the IGP.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KnightWRX Avatar
192 months ago
they might be testing it, but it won't be until a6 or a7 that a solid "desktop" system (as opposed to ios) can be built on arm. Anyone who thinks otherwise is clueless.

KDE builds on ARM :

apple testing an arm a5 powered macbook air image

Gnome builds on ARM :

apple testing an arm a5 powered macbook air image

Unity most certainly builds on ARM (it's tailor made for ARM netbooks afterall) :

apple testing an arm a5 powered macbook air image

Heck, all the Linux DEs build on ARM and run fine. They have for years. And all the Linux DEs make perfect "desktop" systems for people who do Web, E-mail, Facebook. Who's clueless exactly ?

However, I doubt Apple would go forward with this, especially with a build of OS X for ARM. Too much commercial software to through a whole CPU architecture change again, especially that now they are on Intel, the most popular architecture out there for laptops/desktops.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
richcon Avatar
192 months ago
This wouldn't surprise me. Apple has a knack for looking into the future – way into the future in some cases. That doesn't mean that they're preparing for an ARM-based MacBook Air today, just that they're exploring their options for three or four years down the road.

Eventually ARM will go 64-bit and add workstation-level features, and Apple is investing a lot of money into producing their own custom ARM-based chips. Keeping their options open for future Mac hardware makes sense.

Don't forget, Apple had been producing experimental Intel-based Macs since before Mac OS X 1.0 came out in 2001. But they never made this public until they transitioned to Intel processors in 2005; that's a four year period of experimentation and preparation for a possible future.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spillproof Avatar
192 months ago
If I could switch into a very low usage state (like an iPad only running one app) and get 10+ hours of battery, that would be awesome. (Plus a backlit keyboard)
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
d4rkc4sm Avatar
192 months ago
its like ipad with physical keypad
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)