Apple opened vacancies in a new office in Southern California with the goal of building a team to handle the development of chips for managing radio communications.
The intention is to bring together the key skills and knowledge that will allow it to in-house manufacture the chips for which it currently relies on third-party realities such as Broadcom, Skyworks and Qualcommthus reducing dependence on third parties. According to available information, the new team should work on the development of radio chips, RF circuits and wireless systems on chips for Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity.
The new office would be located in the town of Irvine, in an area where the modem manufacturers mentioned above are located. Construction of the office and team is said to be in the early stages, with Apple intending to gradually expand the size of the new project. It should be noted that the headquarters of NXP Semiconductorsthe reality from which Apple today purchases the near-field communication chips used for Apple Pay technology.
Therefore, a more or less aggressive “poaching” action, that is to say, fishing for technical and engineering skills by making offers to engineers and developers already working at Apple’s current suppliers, does not can be excluded. Territorial location is also relevant due to the presence of a branch of the University of California, known for its engineering curriculum.
Apple’s plans, if they materialize, are not surprising: for several years, Apple has been working to be able to develop in-house all the logic components on which to base its devices. From A-Series chips for iPhone and iPadApple then took a leap into desktops and laptops with the creation of M-series SoCs. Apple’s goal is to be able to control both hardware development and software development, so that it can achieve full integration that allows it to specifically optimize the products it offers to the public with bespoke technology solutions.