Qualcomm CEO Outlines Plans to Compete With Apple Silicon, Handle Apple's Shift to In-House Modems

[MacRumors]

Qualcomm Chief Executive Cristiano Amon believes that Qualcomm will provide laptop chips that can compete with Apple silicon by next year and has explained how the company views Apple's expected transition to its own custom modems.

Speaking to Reuters, Amon said that Qualcomm is capable of having the best chip on the market, thanks to a team of chip architects who previously worked for Apple but have since come to Qualcomm.

Earlier this year, Qualcomm acquired the chip startup company Nuvia for $1.4 billion, which was founded by a number of Apple chip designers. Qualcomm will begin selling custom silicon Nuvia-based laptop chips in 2022, which are expected to boast impressive power consumption for extended battery life.

Instead of using core designs licensed from Arm, Qualcomm is looking to use a completely custom core design for its chips, like Apple, to rival Apple silicon. Should Arm develop a better CPU than Qualcomm, Amon said that the company will seek to license the better architecture directly from Arm to ensure that its chips are industry-leading.

Apple is currently a major customer of Qualcomm, with the Qualcomm modem chips being used in all iPhone 12 models. It has been widely reported that Apple is in the process of developing its own custom in-house modem to displace Qualcomm's component, with the first Apple modems appearing in new iPhone models as soon as 2023.

Amon addressed the threat posed by Apple developing its own in-house modems, meaning that Qualcomm would lose Apple as a customer. Most immediately, Amon explained that Qualcomm has decades of experience designing modem chips, which would make it difficult for any rival to replicate its technology.

He added that "the Huawei addressable market is as big as the Apple opportunity is for us," suggesting that Qualcomm may be able to mitigate the loss of Apple as a client by taking up the void left in the Android market, which has been created by the banning of Huawei in the United States.

Article Link: Qualcomm CEO Outlines Plans to Compete With Apple Silicon, Handle Apple's Shift to In-House Modems

 

[Serban55]

As long as Johny Srouji is at Apple, no-one can beat Apple...maybe Apples previous generations

 

[jz0309]

they will not compete with Apple ... they will compete with AMD and Intel ... but it sounds better

 

[apparatchik]

Well, in a year time Apple should be on M3 or its equivalent. All in all this is bad news for Intel, because Qualcomm might start offering M1 comparable chips for the Windows & Linux of the world very soon...

 

[justperry]

Amon explained that Qualcomm has decades of experience designing modem chips, which would make it difficult for any rival to replicate its technology.

Haha, haven't we heard this before....🤔


(iPhone posed no threat.)

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Wishful thinking QUALCOMM! All talk. Talk is cheap. Instead of becoming a competition… focus on collaborating.

Does the CEO not know who he’s messing with? Don't end up like Intel, please. You have a good relationship with Apple for now.

Apple is the top dog. 🍎 🌎

Qualcomm - How do you plan on competing with this? Can you imagine M1X or M2 is going to be like?

 

[DekuBleep]

So Qualcom says Apple can’t compete with them in modem chips but Also says that Qualcom can compete with Apple in ARM chip design?

 

[Marshall73]

Brilliant 🤣. Qualcomm will do the usual and get close to where Apple was a generation prior just as Apple leap forward again. Plus, what's going to run on it? Windows? Good luck getting Windows on ARM performing well and having users who want to buy it.

 

[Captain Trips]

Speaking to Reuters, Amon said that Qualcomm is capable of having the best chip on the market, thanks to a team of chip architects who previously worked for Apple but have since come to Qualcomm.

So Qualcomm can hire talent that used to work for Apple and make the best chip on the market...

Amon addressed the threat posed by Apple developing its own in-house modems, meaning that Qualcomm would lose Apple as a customer. Most immediately, Amon explained that Qualcomm has decades of experience designing modem chips, which would make it difficult for any rival to replicate its technology.

But no one else can do the same to Qualcomm?

Incoming business model disruption for Qualcomm in 3... 2... 1...

And yes, I realize that any modems that Apple designs and uses in their devices will most likely not be sold to outside companies.

 

[RyanInBinary]

Well, in a year time Apple should be on M3 or its equivalent. All in all this is bad news for Intel, because Qualcomm might start offering M1 comparable chips for the Windows & Linux of the world very soon...

In the article the CEO said they wouldn't start offering M1-level chips until *next* year. So it won't be that soon.

 

[Keymaster]

It's interesting that they think they can compete with Apple chips after hiring former Apple employees...the implication is that Apple has the best chip people out there. That seems like a real change in the industry, and bodes well for Apple's chip plans going forward...if they really are developing the best chips out there then that will only make their products better, especially since they are not beholden to anyone else.

This is also a move by Qualcomm to avoid the huge dent to their profits, and subsequent crash of their stock value. They will try to paper over it, but if Apple does develop their own modem then Qualcomm loses a huge amount of business. It's a good move on their part to diversify, it remains to be seen if it's all smoke or if they really can compete against Apple with their new processors.

 

[macsplusmacs]

OK. Sure.

 

[Serban55]

Well, in a year time Apple should be on M3 or its equivalent. All in all this is bad news for Intel, because Qualcomm might start offering M1 comparable chips for the Windows & Linux of the world very soon...

Qualcomm is arm based...so why is bad for intel and amd in the world of windows that all of their major apps are x86 ?!

 

[macsplusmacs]

Qualcomm is arm based...so why is bad for intel and amd in the world of windows that all of their major apps are x86 ?!

because the more ARM shows how much better it is than intel in most cases, the more people that will switch to macs and later, windows 11 on ARM

 

[Captain Trips]

Sinclair, one of my cats that likes to hang out around my Macs, says: "Ooh! Ooh! Hire me, I have been in close proximity to Apple devices! I can help you make world beating processors! Really!"

 

[mnsportsgeek]

The more widely adopted ARM becomes, the happier Apple will be.

 

[jz0309]

Sinclair, one of my cats that likes to hang out around my Macs, says: "Ooh! Ooh! Hire me, I have been in close proximity to Apple devices! I can help you make world beating processors! Really!"

View attachment 1801082

you're sneaking cat picture into every thread ... 🙀 😸 LOL

 

[mannyvel]

So, what OS are they going to put on it? Linux? Why use this instead of some other chip? Will it be that much cheaper?

It'll be interesting to see how this falls out. QualComm obviously sees this as an even better way to lock in customers. The embedded market is really big, but will the power/performance gains be worth it?

 

[Unregistered 4U]

In the article the CEO said they wouldn't start offering M1-level chips until *next* year. So it won't be that soon.

M1-level chips, though they’re the bottom of the barrel for Apple, are still beating the vast majority of PC’s that ship to consumers today. So, they don’t have to be M1-level in order to, say, knock SERIOUSLY on the door of PC vendors currently shipping cheap PC’s with i3’s, i5’s and whatever AMD’s answer to those are.

 

[Captain Trips]

you're sneaking cat picture into every thread ... 🙀 😸 LOL

You say that like it is a bad thing. 😿

Although I will admit this is the first time I have posted a cat picture outside of the Digital Photography forum. But I thought it would be relevant for this article. After I added my commentary, of course.

 

[jz0309]

So Qualcomm can hire talent that used to work for Apple and make the best chip on the market...



But no one else can do the same to Qualcomm?

Incoming business model disruption for Qualcomm in 3... 2... 1...

And yes, I realize that any modems that Apple designs and uses in their devices will most likely not be sold to outside companies.

you are right, but losing apple's business would not be the end for QCOM, just a big dent ...
and history clearly shows that Apple is not selling their in-house chips to anyone else, but who knows, there's a biz opportunity in the future maybe?
One also has to keep in mind that he is new in the CEO role, so he has to prove himself ...

 

[jz0309]

You say that like it is a bad thing. 😿

Although I will admit this is the first time I have posted a cat picture outside of the Digital Photography forum. But I thought it would be relevant for this article. After. added my commentary, of course.

no, very fitting in the contest ... also one has to understand, and I speak out of experience, that design engineers are like cats, they do their own thing and they need to be herded in order to get to some outcome together

 

[Unregistered 4U]

So, what OS are they going to put on it? Linux? Why use this instead of some other chip? Will it be that much cheaper?

It'll be interesting to see how this falls out. QualComm obviously sees this as an even better way to lock in customers. The embedded market is really big, but will the power/performance gains be worth it?

Qualcomm’s already working with Microsoft. They can say SOME things that INFER a deeper more substantive engagement, but they can’t come out and say “Windows 11 will be ready for ARM when it ships!”

 

[Captain Trips]

you are right, but losing apple's business would not be the end for QCOM, just a big dent ...

Agreed, more of a potential hit to their reputation. Kind of like when Apple released the M1 Macs late last year, and even though no one else will ever use Apple Silicon chips, Intel went on the PR offensive to play down just how good the M1 is/was.

 

[okbymeman]

because the more ARM shows how much better it is than intel in most cases, the more people that will switch to macs and later, windows 11 on ARM

ARM is an SoC architecture. There is no reason why Intel can't produce SoC and of course they are working on them already.