We were all expectant, yet surprised, when the first ever Intel-based Macs were announced in January at Macworld San Francisco. It wasn't a complete surprise, at WWDC last year Steve announced the transition from PowerPC (IBM) to Intel processors that would start in the middle of 2006 and be complete by the end of that year. However, we had a feeling that it would be earlier, and rumors were surfacing in December that it would be the consumer level computers, the Mac Mini or iMac, and the iBook. We were half-right; at his keynote Steve introduced an all new iMac with a dual Intel processor, but the surprise was the all new MacBook Pro, a PowerBook replacement pro-level laptop that also sported a dual core chip. The iMac was available immediately and the MacBook Pro was shipped over a month later (last week).
Although the iMac G5 and the PowerBook G4 have been replaced with the iMac Core Duo and the MacBook Pro Core Duo they PowerPC ancestors are still available to purchase in the store. Steve explained this by saying that Pro users won't want to switch over until their applications have been recompiled for Intel. That said, the IBM counterparts are dropping in price, and are slowly trickling out of stock. When they are out, they are out.
With over ten months left a lot can happen. The Apple brand, before the switch, consisted of two laptop lines and four desktop lines (including the endangered eMac). However, now the line has one more laptop line (the MacBook Pro) and one more desktop line (the Intel iMac). The store is divided into four sections; Intel Desktop, Intel Portable, PPC Desktop, and the PPC Portable. Sometime by the end of the year the PPC sections will die and the Intel will dominate; but when?
The Intel iMac was released in both sizes that the PowerPC version covered, 17 and 20 inches. However, the MacBook Pro, the possible PowerBook replacement, is only, as of now, available in the 15 inch size. It may seem strange, but there are two reasons for this. One is my opinion and the other is fact, I think they made the decision to only release the 15 inch version at first because it could possibly be their best selling size. However, I think we should put more trust into the fact, and what good-ol' Steve told us in his keynote; Pros need their software, and not all their software is available for the Intel version of Tiger. However, it is available for the PPC version, and they would rather stick with a bit slower system that ran their programs, than a fast computer that wouldn't. This is the same reasoning behind saving the PowerMac for last; so that Pro-users will not have to wait very long to get the software they need to run compiled for the Intel architecture.
So what's next? The Mac Mini, iBook, PowerBook 12 and 17 inch, the PowerMac and the eMac (which probably will never see the light of Intel) are still PowerPC based and are promised Intel chips by the end of the year. Some say the 17 inch MacBook Pro will be announced at WWDC, but what about everything else? I say the Mac Mini will be next, with a media center focus, then the iBook (or the MacBook), and finally the PowerMac, the high end Pro computer in Apple's line of products.
For me, the day the iBook goes Intel is the day I trash this iBook G4 and spend another thousand dollars on a computer.