Apple is still in the process of transitioning away from Intel-branded processors for products like the iMac, Mac mini, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. Ever since Apple kicked off that effort, Intel has been going out of its way to show off the “power of PC,” because obviously that’s where Intel’s future lies. And now the company’s back at it.
Today, Intel has posted a YouTube video that measures in at just over four minutes. In it, we get to see a “social experiment,” where Intel brought in “real Apple fans” to show them how great Windows-based personal computers are. The ones powered by Intel chips, of course.
According to Ryan Shrout of Intel, these 12 individuals –who are “real Apple fans”– were told they’d get to see “upcoming devices” and the features baked inside them. However, the bait and switch happened when Intel brought out Windows PCs that already have these features, which you can buy right now.
Some of those features include folding your laptop into a tablet, something that PCs have been trying to promote for quite some time now. PC customization is a key element of this promotional video, too. You can check it out in the video above.
Shrout goes on to say that all of the reactions from the real Apple fans in the video are also very real. Definitely not scripted!
We took 12 REAL Apple fans to a focus group touting features of "upcoming devices" that were, in fact, already PCs you can buy today. A fun experiment that shows the power of the PC ecosystem, our partners, and @intel tech https://t.co/cAyI8qFKxO #iamintel https://t.co/8KqtJHP05b
— Ryan Shrout (@ryanshrout) October 4, 2021
This has been a bit of a crazy ride since it all started back in March of this year. You may have forgotten (no one would blame you) that the “I’m a Mac” actor Justin Long came back to actually promote Intel and Windows PCs. Intel launched a dedicated website in its “PC vs Mac” campaign. But! It’s all in good fun, because Intel’s CEO, Pat Gelsinger, says this is all “competitive fun” and, hey, maybe one day, Intel could produce chips for Apple again.
Things got interesting when Intel used a MacBook Pro to promote its latest chips, though.
Apple’s M-series processors are already a hit so far, and that will likely remain the case for years to come. Whether or not Apple sees a reason to work with Intel again, as far as processors are concerned, remains to be seen.