Intel’s extensive chip dominance has meant that some of its rivals have been forced to adopt some of its technology for various reasons, but the dynamic seems to be starting to change. Apple and AMD have made progress in removing Intel hardware in notebook models with Apple M2 processors and some series that use Rembrandt’s Ryzen generation.

iFixit, a well-known California-based company that sells replacement parts and publishes manuals for the same purpose, last week exposed an Apple laptop with an M2 processor to find that The Intel USB 4 overclocking chips are no longer present and have been replaced by those that have except for the following desktop: U09PY3.

U09PY3 is the codename for a retimer chip designed by Apple itself, which took its distance from Intel very seriously and reduced the dependence it had for years on products supplied by that company. However, other sources have speculated about other possibilities such as cost cutting, supply chain constraints and even possible dissatisfaction with the Intel JHL8040R chip.

The Cupertino giant has not officially said anything, but seeing the strategy it has adopted since announcing its intention to use its own processors instead of Intel processors, that Intel technology is gradually disappearing from Mac computers, is something believable.

Intel’s USB 4 retimer chip has not only been replaced in the latest generation of MacBook laptops, but also in some computers that use Ryzen processors of the Rembrandt generation. AMD chose the Swiss company Kandou to equip its KB8001 Matterhorn chips to replace the Intel solution. Kandou stated that his USB 4 retimer chip can be found “in products from five of the top six PC OEMs“. Moreover, its technology is compatible with all SoC platforms, so it is possible to find it in ARM-based devices.

The fact that the Thunderbolt port was a one-off failure and was integrated into the USB Type-C version 3 and 4 connector could have given the competition a chance to distance itself. Thunderbolt in its versions 3 and 4 is capable of reaching 40 GB per second in data transfer, a speed that can be matched by USB 4 through one of its variants.