Apple created the ARM-based M-series chips used in Macs beginning in 2020.
Apple announced its transition from Intel processors to Apple silicon at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2020. The first M-series chip, the M1, appeared in late 2020 in the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini. Apple designed the system-on-chip, combining processing, graphics and other functions in an integrated package.
The M1 uses the ARM instruction-set architecture rather than Intel’s x86 architecture. Apple had already developed extensive ARM-based chip expertise for the iPhone and iPad, which helped it bring similar design principles to the Mac.
Arm Holdings licenses architecture and intellectual property to chip designers but does not manufacture Apple’s M-series processors. TSMC manufactures the chips for Apple. Intel is another common wrong answer because Intel supplied many earlier Mac processors, before Apple’s transition began.