This week, Jeff Wilcox, Appleโs former Director of Mac System Architecture, confirmed that he has left Apple to assume a new role at Intel. As a member of Appleโs M1 team, Wilcox was integral in the transition from Intel chips to Apple silicon.
Wilcoxโs LinkedIn profile states that he โled the transition for all Macs to Apple Silicon starting with M1 chipโ. 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 Intelโs 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 Wilcoxโs 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 Appleโs business by creating โa better chipโ than Apple can produce. The Santa Clara-headquartered company claims its new Core i9 processor is faster than Appleโs M1 Max chip that features in the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.