Power Nap Features Rumoured to Be Moved to Custom ARM Chip ⇥ bloomberg.com

Mark Gurman and Ian King, Bloomberg:

Apple Inc. is designing a new chip for future Mac laptops that would take on more of the functionality currently handled by Intel Corp. processors, according to people familiar with the matter.

The chip, which went into development last year, is similar to one already used in the latest MacBook Pro to power the keyboard’s Touch Bar feature, the people said. The updated part, internally codenamed T310, would handle some of the computer’s low-power mode functionality, they said. The people asked not to be identified talking about private product development. It’s built using ARM Holdings Plc. technology and will work alongside an Intel processor.

This rumour is curious because Power Nap seems to be Apple’s implementation of Intel’s Smart Connect feature. If the Bloomberg report is right, Apple is apparently moving key Intel-specific functionality off of the CPU. Interesting.