The MacBook has always been a step behind the competition from Windows when it comes to incorporating the latest and fastest Intel processors. However, it appears that Apple is trying to blaze its own trail with its own laptop CPUs.

Apple will reportedly announce its first ARM-powered MacBook in late 2020 and launch it in early 2021. This would be a major blow to Intel, which has supplied processors for Apple computers for decades.

AppleInsider reported the news based on a research note by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The note does not reveal which MacBooks this chip will be used in. Our guess is that it will be the MacBook Air as opposed to the more powerful MacBook Pro, or perhaps Apple will bring back the discontinued MacBook.

Kuo also reports that the new scissor-switch keyboard has been very well received on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. In fact, he expects the Magic Keyboard to make its way to the MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook as well. And perhaps it will be offered on the new ARM-powered MacBooks as well.

Apple has already proven that it can produce the world's fastest cell phone chips with its A-series processors, such as the A13 Bionic in the iPhone 11 series and iPad Pro. It will therefore be very interesting to see what the company can do in the notebook segment.

On the Windows side, other companies have tried to launch ARM-powered laptops with little success. For example, Microsoft's Surface Pro X has received negative reviews due to compatibility issues with critical Windows software; the SQ1 chip in the Surface Pro X was developed in partnership with Qualcomm.

The key difference for Apple is that it manufactures its own chips and owns both the hardware and software aspects.

Last but not least, Kuo predicts that Apple will release a completely new MacBook Pro design in the second or third quarter of 2021.