Apple’s apparently not ready to produce its own power management chips, based on the fact that it has commissioned the design of new chips from partner Dialog Semiconductor, a new report claims.
That’s significant because a report from last year suggested that Apple planned to use its own chips starting 2018 or 2019. Instead, today’s news claims that Apple will continue using Dialog chips through 2019 or 2020.
The news was shared by Dialog Chief Executive Jalal Bagherli, speaking with a German newspaper. “Apple at the start of the year commissioned us with the design of chips for many devices for 2019 and 2020,” Bagherli said in an interview published over the weekend.
Going forward, he said that “negotiations … are still ongoing” regarding the two company’s future relationship. “But we expect to deliver a chip design for testing in the customer’s system in the second half of the year.”
Apple’s “in-sourcing”
Last year’s report suggested that Apple’s in-house chips promise to be the most advanced power management chips in the industry. They will boast superior processing abilities, allowing them to better monitor and control power consumption — thereby letting iPhones and iPads deliver better performance on lower power consumption.
In the aftermath of the “in-sourcing” rumor, Dialog lost more than half of its value, due to the company’s reliance on Apple for its business. While there’s absolutely no guarantee that Dialog will hold onto Apple’s chip orders long term, today’s report does at least suggest that Apple may not pull the plug on the relationship quite as quickly as some predicted.
Via: Reuters
