Apple has relied on Intel chips for the Mac for more than 15 years. The company then decided to switch to its own ARM SoCs from the M series – and since then has only sold hardware with its own chips. In a report by the US stock exchange broadcaster CNBC, the group has now a glimpse into one of his chip laboratories for the first time enabled. In addition, important managers such as hardware engineering boss John Ternus and Apple Silicon boss Johny Srouji commented on the strategy.
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Biggest renovation in two decades
Ternus believes that Apple’s internal restructuring towards in-house production was of great importance. “One of the most profound, if not the most profound, changes at Apple, at least in our products over the last 20 years, is the fact that we now develop so many of these technologies ourselves,” he said. “At the top of the list is of course our own silicon.” According to Srouji, “thousands of engineers” are now employed in the division, even though it is still “very lean and efficient.” This is particularly due to the comparatively simple chip portfolio – first comes the A chip for iPhone and smaller iPads, then the M variant for the Mac.
It is a great advantage to only work for your own devices. “Since we don’t really sell chips to the outside world, we focus on the product,” says Srouji. “That gives us the freedom to optimize everything.” The scalable architecture allows Apple to reuse components between different products.
Long story: It started with the iPhone
Apple launched the very first iPhone with a Samsung chip in 2007 – a fact that is often forgotten today. In 2010, the year before Steve Jobs died, an in-house SoC, the Apple A4, was installed in the iPhone 4 for the first time. Foundry was once again Samsung before Apple switched to the Taiwanese producer TSMC. What was helpful for Apple at the time was the takeover of PA Semi in 2008, which brought enormous chip know-how into the company.
Other SoCs and SiPs followed later, for example for the Apple Watch, iPad, HomePod, Apple TV and even AirPods. However, the most important step took place in the summer of 2020 when Apple announced its transition to ARM for the Mac. Within two years (almost) all model series were equipped with Apple Silicon. While manufacturing continues to be conducted primarily in Taiwan – despite big plans for a new factory in Arizona – Apple controls all the details. There are our own laboratories for development and quality assurance, especially in the USA.
(bsc)