Hacker News Reader

> If [an Apple] competitor could actually deliver better silicon than them, they'd be going to AMD, because AMD actually builds custom solutions and can be coaxed into at least getting decent security (see: Xbox), but that still leaves the power management gap on the table, and would force another ISA transition.

AMD has an ARM architectural license, they've released ARM processors (e.g., the Opteron A-series, the AMD Platform Security Processor, etc.), and were at one point experimenting with a common ARM/x86 platform (Project Skybridge).

If Apple wanted a third party to design an ARM-compatible processor for them, AMD would be capable of doing so. Indeed, when there was speculation last year about AMD developing an ARM processor, I suggested that Apple would be the only customer where that would make sense.[1] However, given the success of M1 and Apple's scaling strategy for it, it's unlikely that AMD has anything to offer right now that Apple would want.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25298928

Keep in mind that apparently Apple's architectural license is better than everyone else's, since it seems only Apple gets to extend the ISA in ways forbidden by the architecture spec.

AMD do have an architectural license, but they have never used it. All the ARM cores in their products have been licensed from ARM, not in-house designs, so far.

Being a founding member has its perks.

I think the most logical decision would be to design the Apple Modem / Wireless Chips with Intel Fab sometime in 2024+. Because it is the single product that doesn't directly compete with Intel, gets extra Fab capacity instead of relying on TSMC only, and doesn't need to go to their competitor Samsung Foundry.

There is also some Wireless / WiFI IP Apple could leverage, since Broadcom / Apple relationship has been unstable for years.

I suppose if Intel were to start producing an ARM architecture chip again there's a slim possibility there to win some of Apple's business. But you're right I can't see Apple making an ISA transition again, at least not this decade.

Considering Apple have custom extensions to ARM already, they'd be giving up more than just the SoC design if they switched to a standard ARM core, unless eventually all those extensions get upstreamed into the spec... but I don't see GXF [1] getting upstreamed, at least not like that. That one is just crazy.

[1] https://blog.svenpeter.dev/posts/m1_sprr_gxf/

With IFS, they could still manufacture their designs. Maybe, I'm not sure.