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Comment by paulpan | Hacker News Reader

Expected outcome for the delays in 10nm and now the 7nm fabrication nodes...

What I find surprising is:

1. This former chief engineer was originally poached from Qualcomm back in 2016. Qualcomm was (and remains) not comparable to Intel for market and silicon development, so why was this hire made and picked to run the entire division?

2. The original group, Technology, Systems Architecture and Client Group (TSAC) is monolithic. For as a critical item as fabrication node development, that seems counter-intuitive.

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Qualcomm was and still is kicking Intel's ass at making modem chips, and I'd imagine that's why this hire was made. At that time, Apple was having Intel attempt to build modem chips for iPhones so that Apple could have an option other than Qualcomm. That didn't pan out.

We don’t know if it is going to pan out or not. Apple bought Intel’s modem business.

It didn't make a lasting revenue stream for Intel, and Apple didn't take the ex-qualcomm exec with the business.

Apple no more needs the modem business to be a separate revenue stream than it needs it’s existing processor design team to generate revenue. It will save a lot of money and be able to get from under Qualcomm’s licensing.

Why would it need Qualcomm’s executives? Apple has plenty of leaders on its chip design team with a proven track record of designing processors.

I don't disagree that Intel failed to make competitive modem chips but that's not their proverbial bread and butter.

Instead it was making x86 chips that, while Qualcomm's Snapdragon lineup held a virtual monopoly in mobile space, it's a very much apples and oranges comparison - thermal envelopes, performance targets, size, use cases, etc.

In hindsight perhaps it's unsurprising this hire didn't pan out and unfortunately it may have torpedoed Intel's short term competitiveness.

>Apple was having Intel attempt to build modem chips for iPhones so that Apple could have an option other than Qualcomm. That didn't pan out.

It didn't pan out? Well Apple buying Intel's modem chip business seems like the opposite of it not panning out, at least for Apple.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/25/8909671/apple-intel-5g-sm...

Right, I meant for Intel. And also, it certainly didn't pan out in the timeframe Apple had hoped it would when they made the deal.

Apple didn't want to buy modems from Qualcomm so they supported and bought Intel modems, but Intel failed to develop 5G modem to match 2020 iPhone so Apple make a agreement with Qualcomm (settle lawsuit) to buy Qualcomm's 5G modem chip and concurrently buy Intel's modem department to develop own modems.

Not sure kicking butt is the right description. See Intel amicus brief describing how Qualcomm applied their No License No Chips NLNC policy, to shift profits to royalties such that Intel and others could not compete on price without selling at a loss.

https://blogs.intel.com/policy/files/2019/11/Intel-Amicus-Br...

It did'nt pan out to the tune of 12k people losing their jobs at intel

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