Apple's Intel transition was the process of changing the CPU of Macintosh computers from PowerPC processors to Intel x86 processors. The transition became public knowledge at the 2005 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), when Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs made the announcement that the company would make a transition from the use of PowerPC microprocessors supplied by Freescale (formerly Motorola) and IBM in its Macintosh computers, to processors designed and manufactured by Intel, a chief supplier for most of Apple's competitors.

The transition marked Apple's third migration of its computer line to a new CPU architecture. The first was the switch from the 8-bit 6502 in the Apple II series to the Motorola 68k architecture of the original Macintosh 128k and the second was the changeover of the Macintosh platform from the 68k to PowerPC. Apple is one of the few personal computer companies to have successfully completed such a transition – including Commodore and Atari (from 6502 to 68k).

Apple's initial press release indicated the transition would begin by June 2006 and finish by the end of 2007, but it actually proceeded much more quickly. The first generation Intel-based Macintoshes were released in January 2006, and Steve Jobs announced the last models to switch in August 2006, with the Mac Pro available immediately and with the Intel Xserve available by October 2006. The Xserve servers were available in December 2006.

The Apple–Intel architecture is an unofficial name used for Apple Macintosh personal computers^{[citation needed]} developed and manufactured by Apple Inc. that use Intel x86 processors, rather than the PowerPC and 68k processors used in their predecessors.

Apple uses a subset of the standard PC architecture, which provides support for Mac OS X and support for other operating systems. Hardware and firmware components that must be supported to run an operating system on Apple-Intel hardware include the Extensible Firmware Interface.

The Intel Core Duo, Core 2 Duo, Core i5, Core i7, and Xeon processors found in Intel Macs support Intel VT-x, which allows for high performance (near native) virtualization, which gives the user the ability to run and switch between two or more operating systems simultaneously, rather than having to dual-boot and run only one operating system at a time.

The first software to take advantage of this technology was Parallels Desktop for Mac, which was released in June 2006. VMware offers a similar product, called Fusion, which was released August 2007. There are many subtle differences between the two products; however, regardless of the product used, there are always likely to be some limitations and inconveniences of using a virtualized guest OS, versus the native solution offered by Boot Camp. Therefore the best choice depends on the circumstances. Though, both Parallels and VMware's virtualization products allow users to use native (boot camp installations) of Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 in a virtualized mode while running OS X.

Coordinates: 37°23′16.54″N 121°57′48.74″W / 37.3879278°N 121.9635389°W / 37.3879278; -121.9635389

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest and highest valued semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most personal computers. Intel Corporation, founded on July 18, 1968, is a portmanteau of Integrated Electronics (though a common misconception is that "Intel" is from the word intelligence^{[citation needed]}). Intel also makes motherboard chipsets, network interface controllers and integrated circuits, flash memory, graphic chips, embedded processors and other devices related to communications and computing. Founded by semiconductor pioneers Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore and widely associated with the executive leadership and vision of Andrew Grove, Intel combines advanced chip design capability with a leading-edge manufacturing capability. Though Intel was originally known primarily to engineers and technologists, its "Intel Inside" advertising campaign of the 1990s made it and its Pentium processor household names.

Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (/ˈdʒɒbz/; February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American businessman, designer and inventor. He is best known as the co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Through Apple, he was widely recognized as a charismatic pioneer of the personal computer revolution and for his influential career in the computer and consumer electronics fields. Jobs also co-founded and served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, when Disney acquired Pixar.

In the late 1970s, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak engineered one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of the Apple Lisa and, one year later, the Macintosh. During this period he also led efforts that would begin the desktop publishing revolution, notably through the introduction of the LaserWriter and the associated PageMaker software.