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The move of Microsoft in developing its own chips, following the footsteps of Apple with its M1 chips, serves as a warning shot for chip-producer Intel. (Photo: Pedro Santos/Unsplash(BY CC 2.0))

In what appears as a warning shot for Intel, reports indicate that Microsoft is currently developing its own chips for use in Surface Notebooks, following the path Apple took with its M1.

Rumors are rife that Microsoft is currently working on its own ARM-based chips it intends to use for its servers and Surface Notebooks. With the two biggest names in the world of computing, Apple and Microsoft, Intel must be feeling the pinch and pressure to develop a better and faster chip that can equal, if not exceed Apple's M1 and any future Microsoft chip.

   

In a report by Bloomberg News, it stated that Microsoft engineers are working on the company's own ARM-based processors for its servers and perhaps a future surface PC. Microsoft intends to use the new processors, which are reportedly based on ARM designs, in its Azure cloud services servers. Sketchy reports also indicate the Redmond-based company is also "exploring" the possibility of using another chip for several of its Surface devices, though it is unclear at this point if such will advance into a final product. Whether it will become a final product or not, industry observers say that the news that Microsoft is developing its own chips, following the footsteps of Apple with its M1 chips, serves as a warning shot for chip-producer Intel.

At present, the majority of Microsoft's Azure cloud services Intel-based processors and many of the company's Surface PC lineups also run on Intel chips. Microsoft has also worked with Qualcomm and AMD for custom chips that it uses for some models of its Surface Notebooks, as well as Surface Pro X devices. This shows the company's willingness to break away from Intel. The news that Microsoft is also developing its own chips, following the course that Apple took with its M1 chips, appears like a warning shot for Intel, long-considered as the world's leader in microprocessors.

In 2019, Microsoft co-engineered an ARM-based SQ1 processor that it used for its Surface Pro X. The company then followed this up with an SQ2 variant only a couple of months ago this year. Microsoft also worked with AMD to come up with a custom version of the Ryzen processor that the company uses for its Surface Laptop 3. However, Microsoft's planned move to ARM on its server-side is momentous, especially for Intel. In the case of Apple, it already started its exodus away from Intel chips for its Mac lineup when it used its own M1 silicon chip, which is also based on an ARM design. Reports that Microsoft is also developing its own chip for use on Surface Notebooks, following the path of Apple with its M1 chips, appear like a warning shot for Intel to prepare for the worst. At present, the server chips of Intel rule the server market, though AMD is gradually gnawing away at this profitable market with its own EPYC processors.