I’m so hungry for a new Mac that I’m starting to get tech scurvy. I need some new delicious Mac goodness all up in my desk area, and I’ve been impatiently waiting over 300 days for Apple to announce a new iMac so I can hand them my money in exchange for a new computer. Unfortunately, it looks like I’ll have to starve a bit longer, because new information is showing that Intel’s next-generation Ivy Bridge processors expected to appear in the Mac lineup will be available 8-10 weeks later than originally planned, according to one company official.
The Ivy Bridge CPUs were originally planned to go on sale in April, but Sean Maloney, executive vice-president of Intel, recently stated that the new chips have been pushed back and might not appear until June. The 22nm Ivy Bridge Processors are planned to succeed the Sandy Bridge processors currently used in notebooks. According to Maloney, demand for the new chips has been steady but the new manufacturing process needed to make the smaller chips has been the cause of delay.
It’s unclear whether Maloney’s statement about the delay applies just to the processors that will be used in MacBooks or whether that delay also includes iMacs. Apple’s iMac line was last updated in May 2011, and the Mac Pro line hasn’t seen a significant update since July 2010. Both machines are expected to receive an update soon, and fans have been hoping to see the machines updated in the very new future.
The Ivy Bridge processors are expected to be used by Apple in their newest Mac machines because they will be the best chips available on the market. Just because the CPUs might now be available in mass until June, doesn’t mean Apple won’t be able to secure some quantities before that date, and Intel is still sticking to their Q2 launch schedule for Ivy Bridge.
[via Financial Times]
