On October 30th, during the latter part of Apple’s new MacBook Pro unveiling event, a black machine box connected to the MacBook was briefly captured on camera. The presenter at the event was discussing the speed of genome sequencing (DNA sequencing) using the MacBook’s M3 chip.
This black box is the ‘P2 Solo’, developed by ‘Oxford Nanopore’, the world’s first portable DNA sequencer. Although its appearance was fleeting, it is a device with the potential to someday extend Apple’s business domain to life sciences.
The identity of the black machine next to the MacBook is a portable DNA analysis device.
Oxford Nanopore may be a somewhat unfamiliar name to the general public, but it is a well-known company in the life sciences industry. This company, a spinout established by scientists from Oxford University in 2005, develops and manufactures portable DNA sequencers.
Currently, the number one in the DNA sequencer market is the U.S. company ‘Illumina’. However, existing sequencers are large machines and are very expensive, making them difficult to purchase unless you are a serious research institution.
In contrast, Oxford Nanopore has differentiated itself by producing a cheap and light sequencer based on its own ‘nanopore sequencing’ technology. Although the accuracy of the decoded DNA is lower than that of Illumina, it has been gradually emerging as a major player as it improves its accuracy.
DNA sequencer, the key to next-generation biotechnology
A sequencer is a device that ‘decodes’ microbial, animal, plant, or human genetic information into digital data. So far, biology and genetic engineering have evolved based on this data.
For example, ‘precision medicine’ that creates customized medicine by capturing specific genomes that cause rare human diseases, and ‘cancer vaccines’ that target only cancer tumors by analyzing cancer genomes, all depend on the development of sequencers.
The international scientific community has been able to develop vaccines that respond to the ever-changing mutations of the COVID-19 virus, tracking the mutation process almost in real time, thanks to sequencers including nanopore.
Therefore, the cheap and easy-to-use nanopore sequencer is a device with endless potential for application. Recently, Oxford Nanopore estimated the market size where sequencers could actively play a role at around $150 billion.
MacBook equipped with ‘M3’, perfect for genome analysis tasks
So, what is the connection between this sequencer and the MacBook? As explained earlier, a sequencer can turn an organism’s DNA into data. But the data itself is nothing more than a text file listing simple gene base sequences. Powerful computing power is needed to ‘analyze’ this.
Recently, with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), genome data is often analyzed with large language models (LLMs). As a result, NVIDIA’s GPU, which is specialized for AI from the beginning, and the M series chip installed in the Apple MacBook, are gaining attention in biological research labs.
The P2 Solo unveiled at this event can also be connected to the MacBook. When you put a DNA sample in the P2 Solo for decoding, the completed data file is transferred to the MacBook for secondary analysis through the M3 Pro chip. Oxford Nanopore’s genome analysis software has already been developed in a version tailored to the MacBook operating system (MacOS).
Apple transitioning from a hardware to a service company
The collaboration between Nanopore and MacBook aligns with Apple’s ‘ecosystem strategy’. The MacBook has attracted various professional software to MacOS based on the high performance of the Apple M series chip.
As revealed at this Apple event, most game development, precision machine design, and 3D animation effect tools that require high-spec computing power run on the MacBook.
In fact, this professional software is already as important to Apple as the iPhone for new growth. This trend is very clear when looking at Apple’s fourth quarter results released on November 3rd.
While Apple’s hardware (iPhone, MacBook) growth has been faltering this year, software service sales continue to grow. In particular, Apple’s SaaS (Software as a Service) sales are around $22.3 billion, already second in the group after iPhone sales ($67.2 billion).
In this regard, Apple is likely to continue attempting a transition from a ‘consumer electronics’ company to a ‘service company’. While the iPhone is facing difficulties due to the stagnation of the smartphone market and overheated competition, the ‘Apple ecosystem’ based on powerful computer chips and OS is still smoothly expanding its power.
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