A lot of media this week has been talking about how Apple has lost its mojo, how the company doesn’t take risks, that they’re being passed by competitors. Those who question Apple’s strategy need to look at the story of the A6 processor inside the iPhone 5. Via AnandTech:
This is a huge deal for Apple. It puts the company in another league when it comes to vertical integration. The risks are higher (ARM’s own designs are tested and proven across tons of different devices/platforms) but the payoff is potentially much greater. As Qualcomm discovered, it’s far easier to differentiate (and dominate?) if you’re shipping IP that’s truly unique from what everyone else has.
Apple spent north of $500 million on producing the A6 chip. They’re not taking less risks, they’re taking bigger ones.
