The
Apple–Intel architecture, or
Mactel, is an unofficial name used for Apple
Macintosh personal computers developed and manufactured by
Apple Inc. that use
Intel x86 processors, rather than the
PowerPC and
Motorola 68000 ("68k") series processors used in their predecessors. With the change in architecture, a change in
firmware became necessary; Apple selected the Intel-designed Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) as its comparable component to the Open Firmware used on its PowerPC architectures, and as the firmware-based replacement for the PC
BIOS from Intel. With the change in processor to the
Intel x86 and its support of
Intel VT-x, users were given access to high performance, near-
native virtualization, allowing them to run and switch between two or more operating systems simultaneously.