Apple is reportedly going to make more of its own chips (2024)
Apple is reportedly working to design more chip components in-house, with the company said to be establishing a new office with the aim of replacing components that Apple currently sources from Broadcom and Skyworks, according to Bloomberg.
The new office is said to be in its early stages but will eventually focus on “wireless radios, radio-frequency integrated circuits and a wireless system-on-a-chip,” in addition to “semiconductors for connecting to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi,” Bloomberg says.
While the A-series and M-series SoCs that contain the CPU and GPU for Apple’s iPhones and Macs get most of the attention, there are tons of additional chips inside those devices, handling things like power management, USB connectivity, wireless charging, and more. As iFixit’s iPhone 13 pro teardown documents, Skyworks and Broadcom supply a significant portion of the iPhone’s third-party circuitry — parts that Apple, it seems, would prefer to design on its own to create more bespoke solutions for its hardware.
One of the most prominent examples of third-party chips is the iPhone’s modem, which is currently manufactured by Qualcomm (but had previously been the subject of a years-long legal battle that briefly saw Apple switch to using Intel parts). Apple has made no secret about its ambitions to develop its own 5G chips instead of paying for Qualcomm’s chips, either: the company bought Intel’s smartphone modem business in 2019 for around $1 billion and is said to be looking to switch over to its own in-house modems for the iPhone as early as 2023.
That Apple is looking to build more of its own chips may not just be about exercising a greater level of control and hardware integration, though: it could also be about getting a better handle on part supply. Right now, Apple is already feeling the impact of the ongoing global chip shortage with supply issues for parts from suppliers like Broadcom, which forced Apple to slash its manufacturing targets back in October. Building its own chips could help Apple alleviate some of those issues in the future, assuming it’s able to continue to work well with its manufacturing partners.
As a technology enthusiast with a deep understanding of semiconductor design and Apple's hardware ecosystem, I can provide valuable insights into the recent developments mentioned in the article. My expertise is grounded in both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, having closely followed industry trends, product releases, and advancements in chip technology.
The article discusses Apple's reported initiative to design more chip components in-house, aiming to replace existing components sourced from Broadcom and Skyworks. This move suggests that Apple is seeking greater control over its hardware components, a strategy that aligns with its history of vertical integration and innovation. The company is establishing a new office, still in its early stages, dedicated to designing components such as wireless radios, radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFIC), wireless system-on-a-chip (SoC), semiconductors for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, among others.
While the attention often revolves around Apple's A-series and M-series SoCs containing the CPU and GPU, the article emphasizes the multitude of additional chips within Apple devices, managing tasks like power management, USB connectivity, and wireless charging. Notably, third-party suppliers like Skyworks and Broadcom currently provide significant portions of the iPhone's circuitry, a situation Apple aims to change by designing these components in-house. This move allows Apple to create more bespoke solutions tailored to its specific hardware requirements.
The article also highlights Apple's ambition to reduce its reliance on third-party suppliers for crucial components such as modems. Qualcomm, a major supplier, currently manufactures the iPhone's modem, but Apple has expressed a clear intent to develop its own 5G chips. This strategic shift is evidenced by Apple's acquisition of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019, signaling a desire to control and potentially replace Qualcomm's chips in future iPhone models, possibly as early as 2023.
Beyond exercising greater control and achieving enhanced hardware integration, Apple's move to design more of its own chips may also be a response to the ongoing global chip shortage. The company is already experiencing supply issues with parts from suppliers like Broadcom, impacting its manufacturing targets. By building its own chips, Apple aims to mitigate potential supply chain disruptions and gain more flexibility in managing production challenges, assuming successful collaboration with its manufacturing partners.
In summary, Apple's endeavor to design more chip components in-house reflects a strategic pursuit of control, innovation, and supply chain resilience, with the potential to impact various aspects of its hardware ecosystem, including iPhones and Macs.
In a push to stay above water in the AI race, Apple will reportedly debut new Macs with more powerful M4 chips as soon as this year. Apple is planning to revamp its entire line of Macs with new AI-focused M4 chips, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports, less than a year after it released its M3 chip series.
Regardless of how much silicon Apple eventually designs, it still needs to manufacture its chips externally. That requires massive fabrication plants owned by foundry companies like TSMC.
Neural processing units (NPUs) in Apple's homebrew silicon handle its existing AI implementations. Apple has employed the accelerators, which it terms “Neural Engines” since the debut of 2017's A11 system-on-chip and uses them to handle smaller machine learning workloads to free a device's CPU and GPU for other chores.
Apple chose to make their own chips because the other chip providers (IBM, Intel, AMD) did not produce chips with the features required by Apple. The workloads running on Apple chips are: laptops, phones, tables, and watches.
Why does the Apple M1 chip perform better than Intel? Because the M1 chip is a SoC, or “System On a Chip” - and is designed to be task-specific and engineered to work with the operating system, unlike the Intel chips which are “off the shelf” parts.
Samsung, long the main supplier of DRAM chips for iPhones, is set to start next year supplying NAND flash for iOS devices from its plant in China's Xian plant, which now contributes 40% of the Korean vendor's total 3D NAND flash capacity, ranging from 128 to 176 layers, the sources said.
In recent years, China has actively invested in the field of self-developed AI chips. Major companies such as Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Huawei have accelerated the development of their own AI chips, and numerous AI chip companies continue to emerge. Baidu's foray into AI chips can be traced back to as early as 2011.
The Mac transition to Intel processors was the process of switching the central processing units (CPUs) of Apple Inc.'s line of Mac and Xserve computers from PowerPC processors over to Intel's x86-64 processors.
Takeaways. Apple Silicon which is based on ARM architecture, delivers superior power and thermal efficiency compared to Intel's x86 architecture, allowing for fanless designs in MacBook Air. Intel then comes with a strong focus on single-core performance and integrated graphics capabilities, giving higher-frequency CPU ...
Yes, China does play a significant role in the production of chips for Apple products. One of the major companies involved in producing Apple's chips in China is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is headquartered in Taiwan but has manufacturing facilities in China.
So does Apple Inc., which designs some of its silicon there, an effort run by an Israeli named Johny Srouji. Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. have important chip-design centers there as well. Israel is one of the few places outside of East Asia where advanced chip production is done.
Elon Musk-led electric vehicle maker Tesla has reportedly confirmed that it will participate in TSMC's (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) 3nm NTO chip design finals for the upcoming year. TSMC is also expected to increase its 3nm chip production in 2024.
Qualcomm is slated to provide Apple with chips for their iPhones until the year 2026. Qualcomm has announced an extension of its partnership with Apple to supply 5G chips until at least 2026.
Apple has extended its current manufacturing deal with Qualcomm and will continue using the chip maker's 5G modems in iPhones. While it was originally stated that Apple would only aim to extend the contract with Qualcomm until 2026, it has now been revealed that the contract has been extended into 2027.
All of Apple's in-house designed processors have been manufactured in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation's (TSMC) factories. This includes all of the “A” series processors starting with A4 and up (used in iPhone, iPad, and AppleTV) and the new M1 processor.
Apple Inc.manufactures most of its products in China through partners like Foxconn. Apple's decision to outsource its manufacturing has received significant criticism, due to allegations of poor working conditions, long work hours, and other labor rights violations.
TSMC currently makes most of the high-performance CPUs, GPUs, and SoCs for most of the world's biggest chip companies; Apple, Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm all use TSMC for their most advanced products, and many have switched from competitors like Samsung and GlobalFoundries in the past few years.
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