In looking at the stories about Macs moving to ARM, I get a weird itch that we're looking at a rumor that will recur until it's eventually correct. It's not a terrible prediction; Apple currently makes their own chips for iOS devices. Windows and Linux both are making moves toward supporting ARM, and ARM chips are catching up to x86 in computing power. The latter change is going to be a matter of degrees, as Intel chips will continue to advance. ARM chips will become "good enough" at some point, and Intel's chips will continue to exist for high-end workstations and servers.

The rub of that whole question is that Mac's laptop and desktop lines are aimed at high-end users. Their massive growth in the enterprise was driven by developers and designers asking for MacBooks. If you're asking them to take a step back in power for a corporate strategy tax, you're going to see those same designers rocking high-end MSI laptops and just dealing with the chunky plastic and gaudy LEDs. The number of people doing development in AR and VR that left because of the weak GPUs is already ample evidence.

While many Mac users are iOS users, their loyalty derives from the Mac. Taking macOS out of the equation, or locking it down like iOS alienates those users. They're going to end up on Linux, probably Ubuntu or Elementary OS and searching for the least ugly business laptop they can find. That isn't universal and depends on Apple decrementing everything about the Mac that makes it different than iOS.

Some of those loyalists are going defend the new chips as good enough, as long as they don't see too much of a change in how they're currently working. Another consideration is that Apple owes some of that loyalty to their robust developer community, a lot of the userbase sticking with the change will depend on how many of those developers come along for the ride.

The hardware design loyalists are the hardest to sway. They like the look of everything Apple makes, and probably don't care that much about the internals. Like certain kinds of luxury car buyers, as long as the brand gives them bragging rights and a conspicuous label they're fine.

Obviously, if this isn't just a matter of a stray rumor catching fire as a future product, Apple knows how these segments of the market break down. They'll address how to speak to their needs, but it won't be a pain-free transition. As for the idea that they'll just jam together iOS and macOS into one OS and market that across the line, I'm not sure that holds water. It makes sense to expand the hardware footprint of iOS to include more laptop-like form factors. It will be a separate line akin to the Mac and the Apple II. They're not even doing anything with the iBook brand anymore.

It would be more interesting if Apple partnered with AMD to create MacBooks and iMacs with exceptionally powerful integrated graphics. That might be something to get excited about and think about how it changes the current market. The ARM transition won't likely happen until around the time the entire consumer industry wants to make the leap, maybe a year before everyone else. For now, this rumor seems much more about the usual gang of idiots rubbing their foreheads and prognosticating doom.