Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger wants the firm to make chips so good that they can win back Apple’s Macbook business.Monday’s Apple event showcased why that’s such a challenge.
The Cupertino, Calif., technology giant unveiled new Macbook Pro laptops that feature the new M1 Pro and higher-end M1 Max processors. It said the latter has a 10-core chip design and is 70% faster than the older M1 chip. The M1 Max has 32 cores and delivers twice the bandwidth of the M1 Pro.
“These are the most advanced chips coming from Apple and are a big step up from the original M1 chip launched almost a year ago, serving as anothermajor shot across the board at chip stalwarts given the innovation coming out ofCupertino,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote on Monday.
Gelsinger, who becameIntel‘s chief earlier this year,said on an episode of “Axios on HBO” that Apple decided they could make a chip better than Intel could. During the interview, which aired Sunday, Gelsinger was referring to Apple’s M1 chip, which was unveiled in November 2020 and was praised by investors and tech enthusiasts, alike.
“And, you know, they did a pretty good job,” Gelsinger said on the program. “So what I have to do is create a better chip than they can do themselves. I would hope to win back this piece of their business, as well as many other pieces of business, over time.”
Ives called the M1 Pro and and M1 Max the stars of Monday’s event, which also featured updated Airpods and HomePro Mini smart speakers. Raymond James analyst Chris Caso said the Macbook Pro chips completed Apple’s expected move from Intel platforms.
Apple stock rose 1.2% to $146.55 in Monday trading. Intel shares closed up just one cent higher—essentially flat—at $54.47.
“[Apple] can now stand on its own in leading edge compute performance, that they can be fully independent from Intel, and that independence provides Apple with a competitive advantage,” Caso added.
For Intel, the new Apple chips set an ever higher bar to clear. Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani notes that the M1 was already viewed as a market leader.
“Apple is really lapping the competition with its latest offerings,” Daryanani added.
To Gelsinger’s credit, Intel has taken bold steps to turn things around. He said in March Intel would invest $20 billion to build two chip fabrications cites in Arizona. While Intel has its skeptics, 15 of the 40 analysts covering it have Buy or equivalent ratings, while another 15 have Hold or equivalent ratings, according to FactSet. The FactSet mean target price of $61.83 implies 14% upside from recent levels. But like its ambitions with topping Apple’s own processors, the company is still playing catch-up.