Apple is reportedly working on developing its in-house power management chips for the future iPhone models. Currently, Apple is depending on a UK based company ‘Dialog’ for the supply of the integrated circuitry for power management. According to a new report from Nikkei, Apple wants to develop and use its own custom power management chips as soon as next year. We can assume that these chips could be featured in some 2018 iPhone models but the timeframe is not slated.
Over the span of last few years, Apple has taken over some of the silicon designs in a systematic way. The company now design its own A-Series CPUs and GPUs that power the iPhone and iPads and also the system-in-a-package used in Apple Watch among other components.
Based on this latest report, it seems like Apple’s next target is to become independent in the field of batteries and power management system for its mobile devices. The Nikkei also believes that Apple’s power management chip “would be the most advanced in the industry.” By developing its own solution, Apple might be able to manage extra hours of battery life for iPhones by managing the tasks efficiently.
Earlier this year, Apple told one of its partners, Imagination – a UK based company, that it would stop licensing its GPU design as the fruit company designed A11 chipset includes a GPU wholly designed by Apple. This resulted in a sudden fall in Imagination’s stock by 70% in a single day.
With this news, the same thing happened to Dialog. The company’s stock has already fallen by 15% in a day. Dialog currently supplies power management chips for the iPhones and iPads. If the report turns out to be true, Apple won’t be paying royalties to Dialog in the future. However, there is one core difference as compared to the past event and that is the Dialog bleak outlook is still based on rumours rather than facts. Neither Apple not Dialog have officially commented if their relationship is going to change.
Earlier this year, an analyst has indicated that Apple would hire many Dialog engineers to launch its own PMIC by 2019. Just like the A11, A1, and other Apple-designed chips, the power management circuit would also be manufactured by TSMC according to Apple’s design specifications.
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