There’s a very interesting article over on The Motley Fool today comparing Apple and Intel in an area where people wouldn’t usually think they compete – that of designing the processors that power all of our devices today.

Intel have the reputation they have built over years as the premium processor manufacturer. If you want high-performance CPUs then Intel are generally your no-questions-asked go-to company. This still applies when you’re talking about high-power-consumption and high-performance CPUs in desktop computers, workstations and servers.

Apple, however, have snuck up behind Intel without anyone seeming to notice and are now designing CPUs for iPhones and iPads that are performing better than Intel’s processors at the same clock speed.

This means that Apple are making more efficient processors that use less power and generate less heat, yet still have very respectable performance.

Apple are now producing processors that have outstanding low-power consumption, but not by sacrificing high performance.

As an example, Apple’s custom-designed A11 processor in the latest iPhone 8 and iPhone X easily beats the Intel Core i7 processor in the top-spec MacBook Air laptop on both single-core and multi-core processing.

Source: How Apple Dethroned Intel As the World’s Most Innovative Chipmaker