After the experience with the first two iPhone generations, Apple became convinced that it would not be sufficient in the long term to simply install off-the-shelf mobile chips. You urgently need to get involved in chip development yourself, otherwise it will not be possible in the long term to create a unique product that stands out from the competition. In order to achieve the goal, however, Apple needed a lot of expert knowledge all at once – and in order not to have to start from square one, a chip forge was taken over in 2008.
$280 million for a chip specialist
The choice fell on PA Semi (“Palo Alto Semiconductor”), a start-up whose name had been haunting the Apple scene for years. When Apple announced in June 2005 that it was switching from PowerPC to Intel processors, many long-established Mac users were alienated. At that time it was often read in forum discussions that Apple had much better alternatives than Intel – PA Semi was mentioned again and again as a developer of PowerPC chips.
Apple had to put almost 280 million dollars on the table for the specialist. When asked whether there could be PowerPC products again, Steve Jobs was quite clear. Apple and Intel have a great working relationship that should last forever, said the CEO at the time. Regarding PA Semi, one should not lose too much sleep, one is very satisfied with Intel. The takeover was more about Apple’s expertise than existing products.
Apple secured expertise
Although it did not happen that Intel should remain the first choice forever, the statements regarding the expertise were clearly correct. The acquisition of PA Semi secured a lot of technical knowledge and personnel for Apple, without which the results would probably not have been achieved so quickly. As early as 2010, Apple was able to present its first “own” processor or system chip, namely the A4 of the iPad.
iPad chips were followed by desktop products
About five years after the A4, voices within Apple that dreamed of in-house Mac processors prevailed. The yearly, very significant increases in performance, together with continued optimistic forecasts, caused the pendulum to swing in 2015 and from then on Apple’s chip department worked towards transferring the successes with the iPhone and iPad chips to the Mac. The first results were available in 2020, the M1 amazed experts and users.