This week, Jeff Wilcox, Apple’s former Director of Mac System Architecture, confirmed that he has left Apple to assume a new role at Intel. As a member of Apple’s M1 team, Wilcox was integral in the transition from Intel chips to Apple silicon.
Wilcox’s LinkedIn profile states that he “led the transition for all Macs to Apple Silicon starting with M1 chip”. Prior to this, he reportedly developed the System on a Chip (SoC) and system architecture for the T2 coprocessor used in Intel Macs.
After spending eight years at Apple, Wilcox announced his departure from the Cupertino firm in December and as of this week, he is Intel’s Design Engineering Group Chief Technical Officer (CTO). He has said that his new responsibilities will include the architecture of all SoCs for all Intel client segments.
It is unclear how much of an effect Wilcox’s departure will have on the future development of Apple silicon chips. The Apple silicon transition is currently well underway, with an anticipated completion in 2022, when the new Mac Pro and iMac Pro machines housing Apple silicon chips are expected to launch.
Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger has previously said that he aims to win back Apple’s business by creating “a better chip” than Apple can produce. The Santa Clara-headquartered company claims its new Core i9 processor is faster than Apple’s M1 Max chip that features in the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
