Steve Jobs and Paul Otellini on stage at MacWorld when Apple announced Intel chips were coming to Macs AP Apple is dumping Intel chips in favor of ARM based chips for its laptops, and possibly its desktops, Charlie Demerjian at SemiAccurate reports.

Demerjian says it won't happen immediately, but it's "a done deal." He predicts the transition happens in 2013.

Apple already uses ARM architecture on its its A5 chips which run the iPad 2. So, it's not out of left field Apple would use the same sort of design on its laptops.

This news will be a blow for Intel, if true. Yes, Apple isn't a huge part of Intel's business, but Apple's Mac business has been outgrowing the PC market for 20 quarters straight.

Last week Microsoft reported weak PC sales for Q1, which was surprising because Intel delivered strong sales in the same period. Microsoft's investor relations manager told us a small part of the reason Intel did well was because of Mac sales.

Further, Intel has been desperately trying (and failing) to get in the mobile business. It just introduced new chips which want to compete with ARM. But, Apple's move would be another signal that Intel is losing out when it comes to low power chips and the future of computing.

Related: The Most Important Tech Company You've Never Heard Of: ARM Holdings