Apple still has no plan to use an ARM-based chip at the moment. That leaves the fans with two powerful processors to equip the MacBook and iMac 2017.

ARM-Based chip is not in Apple's roadmap, for now

Phil Schiller firmly said that there will not be any touchscreen iMac nor a MacBook powered by an ARM processor anytime soon. The marketing exec, however, did not deny any possibility of having a custom chip for Apple's future devices.

That leaves tech experts with two speculations. Apple is either using Intel processor, or foregoes the offering and switch to AMD instead. To make things clear, The rumored 10nm Cannonlake will be a famous successor coming out later this year, thus, there is no chance that it will be featured in any of Mac lineup in 2017, MobiPicker reported.

Another thing, it is too early for Apple to overlook Kaby Lake for AMD's latest chip. The Zen CPU is still a new player in town and Intel latest financial report suggests that the company will most likely to supply the chip, according to Motley Fool.

Moreover, from the recent conversations between Apple and a pack of journalists, the Cupertino giant signaled that there will still be another Intel-based desktop PC and MacBook Pro for this year. When Axios' journalist compared the iMac to the touchscreen Surface Studio as a 'wow' creative pro, Schiller briefly suggested that the iMac is not meant for being portable nor it needs to have a touch feature. Another reason is that Apple conducted a survey to Mac and iMac users; and found out that it is not in their list of interests, TechCrunch reported.

That being the case, it seems that Apple does not easily give into the public demands but rather, optimize the hardware and features for what will be benefit for the professional users. The interview also suggests that the company could be looking a complementary role for Intel chip, instead of replacing it.

An ARM processor will allow Apple to bring specific features on MacBook and iMac but since the company has hinted at no revolutionary changes coming soon - the custom-built processor may not be seen in any of its 2017 offerings.