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Is AMD working on an ARM-based Apple M1 rival?

AMD working on an ARM-based chip that would rival the M1 processor. An official announcement is expected soon, it appears.

Ever since Apple introduced its own ARM-based M1 chip for Macs, the announcement has shaken the PC industry. Apart from Intel, if there is another semiconductor company that has been impacted most by Apple’s decision to use its own custom ARM chips, it is AMD. Looks like AMD is in no mood to give up so easily as the company is gearing up to announce an ARM-based chip that would rival Apple's M1.

The rumour comes from leaker Mauri QHD, who claims that AMD is working on two M1 competitor chips, one version with integrated RAM and one without it. It is said that the ARM-based processor is believed to be “almost ready”, though it’s not exactly known when the announcement will be made. With AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su will deliver a virtual keynote at CES 2021 on January 12, the mysterious ARM-based chip could be made official at the world’s largest tech trade show.

The Santa Clara, California-based AMD isn’t a stranger to ARM-based chips. In fact, in 2014, the company announced that it was working a custom 64-bit ARMv8 CPU core codenamed K12. Then in 2016, AMD announced the K12 Core. Unfortunately, the chip was killed off. However, earlier this year, it was reported that AMD could be working on the revamped K12 project, with a new chip called K12 FFX in the works.

If AMD is any near launching the M1 competitor, one could expect slimmer and lighter notebooks with crazy long battery life. But it’s going to be a challenge for AMD to launch the M1 rival until Microsoft fixes application compatibility issues for Windows 10 on ARM PCs. When contacted an AMD India spokesperson said, “We don’t comment on future product plans.”