[ak217]

If Apple wants to move off Intel for desktop CPUs in the near future, good luck to them - the laws of physics apply to Apple, too. Intel has invested tens of billions of dollars in process technology, owns key IP and assets, and (after a long delay) is pushing the power envelope of their CPUs down aggressively, with their latest generation providing desktop-grade performance at 4.5W and more to come. Their delays may affect aggressive product roadmaps, but have more to do with the fact that Intel is not one but two process shrinks ahead of the competition, and are dealing with problems nobody else has seen before.

Intel is better than ever at the power-performance game, despite suffering badly from ARM. The performance gap is huge. Their current position is the result of a continuous sequence of design success and R&D reinvestment that started with Pentium M more than 10 years ago.

If anything, I expect Intel to finally start breaking into the phone market as they catch up on SoCs.