According to “Bloomberg” journalist Mark Gurman, very well informed about Apple, the apple firm would gradually abandon chips designed by subcontractors to replace them with homemade chips. One more step towards greater independence from the apple brand.
Apple is gradually abandoning some of its suppliers for the design and manufacture of chips for its iPhone, iPad, MacBook and Mac. Journalist Mark Gurman explained in an article published on Bloomberg that Apple would like to replace several of them. If Apple has already removed Intel processors from its computers in favor of its M1 and M2 chips, it would be the turn of other chips that the company would design itself.
Apple would like to get rid of its subcontractors
According to information from Mark Gurman, Apple would like to replace a chip produced by Broadcom in 2025 with one designed by Apple. It would be a hard blow for Broadcom since the Cupertino giant represents its largest client, with a weight of 20% of its billing, or just under 7,000 million dollars. Broadcom makes a ” combined component that manages Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functions in Apple devices ».
However, Broadcom would continue to supply Apple with components.” including radio frequency chips and chips that manage wireless charging “. Mark Gurman points out that Apple ” also strives to personalize these pieces “. A situation that does not seem to worry the company’s general manager, Hock Tan, who said in a conference call that he felt he had the best technology.
The same goes for the modem, so far made by Qualcomm: ” Apple also intends to have its first cellular modem chip ready by late 2024 or early 2025. “. Apple is also a large client for Qualcomm: it represents 22% of its annual turnover, or almost 10 billion dollars. The manufacturer has known for years that Apple will gradually stop working with it and tends to reconvert.
Strained relations between Apple and its suppliers
Mark Gurman also recounts the strained business relationships between the Apple brand and its subcontractors. First with Broadcom: its CEO” has a reputation for difficult negotiations and has forced some clients to commit to non-cancelable orders during component supply shortages, especially during the pandemic. We do know, however, that Apple spends $15 billion between 2020 and 2023 with its supplier.
If this separation has probably been planned for several years, we can think that the legal war between Apple and Qualcomm has not helped. Especially since these were patents related to modems. The resolution found: Qualcomm will supply components to Apple until 2024.
towards a chip who does everything “, but not now
Mark Gurman goes on to say that Apple is developing an in-house chip that will combine the cellular modem, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth into a single component. It could be used in its devices as early as 2025. Apple’s expertise in this area has already been proven, such as with the H2 component in AirPods or the W3 chip in Apple Watch.
While waiting for this single chip, Apple wants to replace Qualcomm’s modems. For the journalist, Apple initially plans to use its own component in only one new product, such as a high-end iPhone model. “. This also explains why Apple would have canceled its iPhone 4 SE.
Thereafter, Qualcomm’s modems would be phased out over three years. Initially, this was going to be the case this year, “ but development problems have delayed the schedule »: overheating, autonomy, validation (for operation with all operators and in all countries). The brand is also believed to be working on its own Micro LED display for a future Apple Watch.
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