Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), wants to make a very important component of the iPhone phones, but also of the iPad tablets, and this after a rather long period in which it was involved in many lawsuits from which it did not gain anything. Apple wants to completely abandon Intel and Qualcomm for the manufacture of GSM modems used in the iPhone and iPad, and for this it has changed the duties of some of the engineers who develop the processors in its iDevices.
Apple alone develops the best processors for mobile terminals at the moment, based on the ARM architecture, but "customized" for iDevices, so as to offer superior performance to those for Android. Apple has a lot of experience with these processors, but also a measure of success, and now it wants to use the experience of its engineers to make including modems to use in the iDevices it will launch in the future.
Apple wants to make an IMPORTANT iPhone Component ALONE
Apple gave Johny Srouji the mission to deal with the development of these modems, the current vice president of Apple leading the team that develops the processors used in iDevices by Americans. Apple used to have a team of engineers that developed the modems for its iDevices, but it was integrated into the main one that develops processors, and now they will work together to help the company get rid of Intel and Qualcomm in the coming years.
Apple Inc has moved its modem chip engineering effort into its in-house hardware technology group from its supply chain unit. Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies, took over the company's modem design efforts in January. Srouji joined Apple in 2008 to lead chip design, including the custom A-series processors that power iPhones and iPads and a special Bluetooth chip that helps those devices pair with its AirPods wireless headphones and other Apple accessories. The modem efforts had previously been led by Rubén Caballero, who reports to Dan Riccio, the executive responsible for iPad, iPhone and Mac engineering, much of which involves integrating parts from the company's vast electronics supply chain.
Apple needs a few years to finalize its modems and bring them to a point where they can be used in iDevices instead of those of Qualcomm and Intel, so we still have to wait until we see the results. Considering that Apple has processors superior to those of Qualcomm, it is very interesting to see what it will manage to do on the part of GSM modems, and how it will create the products in order not to infringe the patents of other companies.
