I definitely concur on Apple not going back to Intel. Like you said, beyond performance, the problem with Intel is that they don't make the chips that Apple really wants. Apple is able to put an M1 into an iPad Pro because they were able to design the thermal and power requirements of the chip to what they wanted. At the same time, it's a very good laptop chip (even in the non-Pro/Max version) and lets them ship a fan-less MacBook Air with the same chip. Because they control the whole hardware, they can go with an efficient unified memory architecture that doesn't require copying.

Intel is pushing benchmarks on a 45 watt processor and trying to compare it to M1s using half the power or less. As a Mac user with an M1 Pro, I don't ever want to go back to a laptop that requires the fans to spin up all the time like my 2020 Intel MacBook Pro. Apple has shown that it can continue to churn out processors that are better than Qualcomm's (or anyone else) on the mobile side. It seems likely that they'll be able to maintain their pace with the M-series processors and it gives them the chance to build the best part for their needs.

I don't think it's strange for Intel to say that. They want to put the impression in your head that their future chips are going to be so great that the richest company in the world will come back and say, "we're sorry for leaving, could we get some of your amazing chips?" If they say, "we've written off Apple," they're saying that they won't ever make chips that are compellingly better than Apple's. The best Intel can hope for is to make chips competitive with Apple's. If that's the best Intel can do, what's to stop Microsoft, Lenovo, or HP from designing an ARM processor that's competitive with Intel and leaving Intel just as Apple did?

Intel needs to project the image that their future chips aren't just going to be competitive, but so good that they'll win Apple's business back. If they aren't that good, it leaves the door open to more companies ditching Intel.

Even if Intel knows they're never going to win Apple's business back, they want companies like Microsoft, Lenovo, and HP to see investing in ARM processors as a waste of money. If Intel processors are going to be so great in the next couple years that Apple is going to regret their decision, then any money I spend trying to create "Lenovo Silicon" ARM chips is just wasted money. By the time my chips are ready, I won't want to bring them to market since Intel will be so far ahead.

Likewise, it reassures shareholders and your board of directors that you believe that Intel's future is so bright that you'll leapfrog Apple. Your comment on how far Intel has fallen and how it's a disaster is a perception held by many. Apple leaving Intel was a very public rebuke of the company's ability to deliver good chips. Saying that you hope to win Apple back puts the impression in shareholders and directors minds that there's no reason to question Intel's new trajectory (new as of 2021). Sure, they haven't been able to deliver on that yet, but their new roadmap looks fancy. Intel 7 and Alder Lake sounds like a return to the Intel of old where they're improving their process - 7 is a nice shrink from 10, right? And Intel 4 is coming real soon! That should keep them competitive against 3nm from TSMC, right? To be fair, I think Intel's trajectory is improved, but not enough to surpass Apple. But management will want shareholders/directors to stick with them long enough for their plan to play out.

It is initially strange to say something like that, but it serves an important purpose for Intel.