by Dan Moren
Chips, ahoy! A look inside Apple’s hardware technologies division
Bloomberg Business has an in-depth profile on Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, and the chip-making division he runs:
Everything looks exceedingly complicated. Srouji won’t discuss costs, but Apple’s research and development expenses hit $8.1 billion last year, up from $6 billion in 2014 and $4.5 billion in 2013. Many analysts attribute the rise in large part to chip development. All Srouji will say about his budget is that Cook doesn’t scrutinize it. “I run it very tight,” he says. “I truly believe that engineers will do their best when they are constrained by either money, tools, or resources. If you become sloppy because you have too much money, that’s the wrong mindset.”
A classic example of Apple’s focus on controlling the key strategic elements of its products. The chips found in the iPhones and iPads are a major differentiator for the company. And given all that the company’s invested in this division, it wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see an Apple-powered Mac appear at some point in the next few years.