Apple developed the ARM-based Apple silicon chips used in modern Mac computers and remains one of the world’s richest companies by market capitalization.
Apple silicon is a family of systems-on-a-chip designed by Apple for products such as the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPad Pro. The first Mac computers using Apple’s own M-series chips went on sale in 2020, beginning Apple’s transition away from Intel processors in its computers.
The M1 chip introduced the Apple silicon Mac era. Later generations, including the M2, M3, and M4 families, expanded performance and efficiency across different Mac and iPad models. These chips combine computing cores, graphics, memory technology, and specialized engines on a single system.
Apple silicon is based on the ARM instruction-set architecture, but Apple designs its own implementations. ARM is the architecture licensor, not the manufacturer of Apple’s branded chips; manufacturing has largely been performed by TSMC.