Apple reportedly prepped AMD-powered MacBook Air

SemiAccurate claims that Apple developed a MacBook with AMD Fusion Llano processor last spring, but postponed mass production because of some issues. According to report, such notebook running AMD's low-power Llano chip was Apple’s original “plan A” while the current thin-and-light MacBook Air is actually the company's "plan B”.  Charlie Demerjian, the author of the report, believes that a machine with AMD processor would have lost some CPU power in exchange for "many times the GPU power."

The current-generation MacBook Air has Intel Sandy Bridge chip. Apple ultimately went with Intel because AMD was having trouble producing enough of the "premium" parts to meet demand for a refreshed MacBook Air, though multiple sources reportedly told the publication that supply was "only one of the reasons" that Apple decided not to release move forward with the machine. As far as we know, Apple is still interested in AMD processors. "Sources indicate that ARM CPUs are still on tap as soon as the 64-bit chips show up," Demerjian wrote.

Moreover, last year AMD and Apple representatives had met to discuss implementation of AMD processors into Apple’s Macs. It seems that Apple is indeed planning to begin adopting AMD's processors within the next few years.