What you need to know
- Apple is looking to develop wireless processors in-house.
- The company is hiring engineers in a new office in southern California.
- They will be working on chips that could replace those from current vendors.
Apple is looking to bring even more of its chip design in-house.
As reported by Bloomberg, the company has a new office in Southern California that it is hiring engineers for. According to the report, they will be working on wireless chips that could eventually replace those from companies like Broadcom and Skyworks Solutions.
The company is seeking a few dozen people to develop wireless chips in Irvine, where Broadcom, Skyworks and other companies have offices. Recent job listings show that Apple wants employees with experience in modem chips and other wireless semiconductors.It's part of a broader strategy of expanding satellite offices, letting the tech giant target engineering hotbeds and attract employees who might not want to work at its home base in Silicon Valley. The approach also has helped Apple further its goal of making more of its own components.
The job postings for the new positions hint that Apple could be looking to build its own chips for a range of wireless needs including Bluetooth, WiFi, cellular service, and more.
"Apple's growing wireless silicon development team is developing the next generation of wireless silicon!" one job listing says. Another says employees will "be at the center of a wireless SoC design group with a critical impact on getting Apple's state-of-the-art wireless connectivity solutions into hundreds of millions of products."
A spokesperson for Apple declined to comment on the story. Both Broadcom and Skyworks did not respond to requests for comment.
It is already known that Apple is working on its own wireless processors that could replace the 5G chips it currently uses from Qualcomm. The company bought Intel's wireless division as part of that plan and has been working on the technology since. It has yet to bring that work into one of its products but, knowing Apple's track record with bringing chips in-house, it's only a matter of time.
