With P.A. Semi under its belt, and now "people familiar with the deal" reporting to
The New York Times that a purchase of Intrinsity is a go, Apple's march to ARM preeminence is becoming much more clear. A rumor
about an Intrinsity purchase surfaced a few weeks ago when the processor design firm's website went down and a few of its employees switched their LinkedIn employee status over to Apple, but now we've got some solid confirmation -- though Apple and Intrinsity are still staying tight-lipped about the deal. Intrinsity's rumored contribution to the iPad's A4 chip is a modified A8 core it designed dubbed the Hummingbird, which squeezes 1GHz of performance out of a chip regularly limited to a mere 650MHz. It's unlikely that this acquisition will shed much more light on the internals of the iPad or future Apple devices -- in fact, it might help obfuscate them -- but it's clear that Apple is dead set on owning as much IP and "smart people" in relation to ARM as it can muster. Of course, the next big rumor on this front is a purchase of
ARM itself, but that's an entirely different
can of worms.
posted April 27th 2010 5:07PM
@kevlar
Wouldn't someone just right "primero" instead.
@Vanityeverlastingbonet Once again, victory was snatched from my grasp
@Vanityeverlastingbonet
Aren't you special
One step closer to world domination.
@iPhoneOrAndroid
I always think of Apple and Steve just like in the movies trying to conquer the whole planet. Steve is sitting down and Laughing. "BWAHAHAHAHA!"
@staticjethro I'm sorry.. I couldn't resist. I got a few PERFECT images:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4079/drapple.jpg
@iPhoneOrAndroid
I don't know man, I think Google might beat Apple to world domination.
Just sayin'
@iPhoneOrAndroid
We believe we will stand to gain from the future acquisition and/or hostile takeover of One Infinite Loop. Skynet is pleased with the current growth rate of Apple's technology. c2t5bmV0
@iPhoneOrAndroid
but but but butt... Don't be evil??? HHHHHHUUUUUUUUUHHHHHH!!
@iPhoneOrAndroid
but apple is just a niche player with 3% market share.. blah blah blah. ;)
@kevlar Should have had mini me holding an iPod Touch, and Dr. Evil holding an iPad.
Apple is probably never going to purchase ARM - it just doesn't make sense. ARM's got a lot of overhead (constantly researching and refining their processor architectures), but they make up for it by selling a bazillion chips to every Smartphone/Dumbphone/Tablet/etc manufacturer on the planet. If Apple bought ARM, in order for Apple's ARM division to stay profitable they'd either have to destroy everything that makes ARM worth purchasing (tons of R&D, more or less), or continue selling chip architectures.
TO THEIR COMPETITORS.
They're just buying up small/medium firms like this to better tweak and hone the chips from ARM to make them better than their competitors' ARM chips.
@illuminerdi ARM does and doesn't sell the chips per se. They sell the manufacturing licenses. That's why there is the Cortex A-8 (Hummingbird, A4, T.I. OMAP 3xxx, Snapdrgon, blah blah blah) Same goes for the Cortex A-9, etc... Once the license is owned, ARM can be purchased but that cannot stop the further research OR production of ARM chips by the licensees (T.I., Samsung, etc..)
@illuminerdi
Arm doesn't make chips, lol.
They make the architecture and then license the source code and manufacturing rights so someone else can make it.
ARM will *never* sell to Apple, they are doing too well
@DoctarPeppar .. WTF ? .. ARM made like $30 million profit last quarter. They maybe doing good by their standards but Apple could buy them with the profits they make in a few days.
@taligent
Not exactly, ARM is growing fast and the current owners wants large premiums to sell, it would probably cost around 8 billion to buy them . Apple made 3 billion last quarter! But the others would never let Apple have them, or any one else for that matter.
Its much cheaper to buy a license and customize it.
@Sled yea he is "special"
GOOD MOVE Apple
Can't wait to see the fruits of this labor.....
Apple keeps moving on. Ignore the Apple HATERS Jobs. They don't matter
@TheLondonExchange its not the problem that he's ignoring haters, its the loyal coustemers thats the problem. And as for fruits, Im sure they will be apples...yea Im definitely sure
@TheLondonExchange
prepare to get downranked.
@nk
Please point out these "Loyal customers"
Cuz all that's here on Engadget are
1) Apple Haters
2) android fanboys who are desperate for any android device to reach the same level of success as Apple's iPhone
3) nokia fanboys
4) Windows Mobile fanboys (I salute them tho...their sacrifice and loyalty will be rewarded come this fall with WP7 hopefully)
That's all that happens on Engadget. Another day of miserable jealous Apple Haters wishing Apple to make a bad move....
Too bad Apple does nothing but the right moves lately.
iPhone 4G is almost upon us and that will ensure dominance for yet another year.
@n8equalsd
Pathetic popularity whore. Is that the only reason you visit Engadget?
To get upranked?
Sorry but I come here for the news and the read the comments. Not to whore myself out by seeing how great of an insult I can hurl at the Apple Supporters or the Engadget writers so that the Apple Haters can uprank me quickly...
@TheLondonExchange
good move on Apple's part. I am not sure if anything Apple is doing lately is good for consumers. Well, unless you like to make toast on your laptop.
@TheLondonExchange I do truly believe that TheLondonExchange is Steve Jobs. My reasons are simple. Combine Steve Jobs' megalomania, cancer drugs and pain treatments. You'll notice that when he publicly speaks he is falling deeper into dementia. Now look at LondonExchange when he posts. The similarities are SCARY.
@TheLondonExchange ok ok, but troling always gets U downranked, say stuff like "APPLE WILL BE DEAD IN A YEAR" and U'll also get downranked, and as for ignoring part...well some stuff ppl wanted is coming too late and some arent even coming cuz Jobs doesnt want it (tell me atleast one guy who doesnt want flash on his iPhone and prove me wrong)
@TheLondonExchange
"Too bad Apple does nothing but the right moves lately."
With that kind of grasp of the english language I'm assuming you're fourteen. Am I right dog ?
@fourthletter
"With that kind of grasp of the english language I'm assuming you're fourteen. Am I right DAWG?"
Fixed.
@TheLondonExchange
Hate doesn't mean jelously.
@TheLondonExchange
Where in my comment did I say I love getting upranked? When I said "prepare to get downranked" I meant that your comment wasn't very smart.
I like how you attack anyone who disagrees with you and label them, then tell them to get off engadget.
@TheLondonExchange
Word! They should keep ignoring the ignorant morons who think they know everything. Many of them are just wishing for their downfall anyways.
@Dr Kwame Nkrumah
You realize...those "haters" helped get multitasking onto the iPhone OS 4, correct?
@NoNameAtAll
Please share how they did that wise one?
@fourthletter
Comma, Comma, Comma,
LOOK A HOBBIT
Comma, Comma, Comma...
@NoNameAtAll
That's a bunch of bullshit.
Steve Jobs and Apple added multitasking because THEY (NOT YOU) wanted to.
The could have easily left it out and no one would have given 2 shits (Except Apple Haters) like yourself.
That's the COLD HARD TRUTH.
@TheLondonExchange Exactly, you wouldn't have cared if they left it out, because as far as you're concerned they can do no wrong. Sadly, their are many people like you.
Multitasking is essential. If I couldn't multitask on my phone I wouldn't own a smart phone.
I don't stand behind any company the way Apple fanboys stand behind theirs.
@TheLondonExchange With Apple lovers like The London Exchange, who needs Apple haters? I wish people like you would shut up, you make Apple look bad.
Looks like TheRogueFFangel got a new Engadget account...
@Vanityeverlastingbonet
May the punishment begin!
I l0l irl!
I am purchasing the licensee. Pray I don't purchase it any further
@Lord Vader
One Infinite Loop is OURS.
@Cyberdyne Systems. That is correct, Cyberdyne. But i am most displeased with your apparent lack of progress on the computer systems in my Death Star III, they are not fully operational. We had an agreement, do not fail me again.
Apple is the new EA. Everyone loved EA back in the day, before they bought up all these beloved companies, and then got bloated and corrupt. Then they turned EVIL!!!!!!
Yeah, it's kinda like that...
@TheChaosEngine are U saying that Apple is yet to become evil? cO
somebody told me that already happened
@nk
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5428/appled.png
@commenter7
Do a search on "Google is " too. Man, WTH lol. Especially the third option down... GOLD!
Stupid.
People always say Apple is a hardware company... this is just another example.
Isn't the new Samsung 1Ghz Cortex A8 called Hummingbird too? Is it the same?
@brilliantcorner Chip was designed by Intrinsity, built by Samsung and aquired by Apple.