Qualcomm's competing M1 chip to be introduced within nine months | MacGeneration

So far, computer chips developed by Qualcomm have not really found their customers. The version of Windows for ARM has not become a must, despite the Snapdragon 8cx range unveiled in December 2018. And the joint work with Microsoft on the SQ1 and SQ2 chips for the Surface X has not yielded the expected fruits.

Despite everything, Qualcomm has every intention of treading on Apple's flowerbeds with a chip that could show off the superpowered SoCs of the Cupertino manufacturer. During the day dedicated to shareholders, the founder made a progress report on the development of the future system-on-chip which aims to become the reference in terms of performance for Windows PCs.

Qualcomm wants to snatch the leadership in terms of autonomy and performance over the length, which seems like a declaration of war against Apple and the M1 chips which have proven themselves in these two areas. The company is so confident that the innovations incorporated into this SoC will also benefit mobile equipment, the automotive sector and data centers.

The first copies of this miraculous chip will be delivered within nine months, while the first equipped computers will be available in 2023. If Qualcomm is showing such optimism, it is because it relies on a technology developed by Apple alumni who founded Nuvia. This start-up had started developing chips for servers, before Qualcomm got its hands on the portfolio.

Qualcomm promises a chip as powerful as the M1 of Macs, with the help of former Apple

An acquisition that did not make everyone happy at Apple, the manufacturer having filed a complaint against Nuvia for breaches of non-competition clauses. The tone quickly rose in the towers between the two companies.

In the meantime, Qualcomm and Apple continue to work together, the first providing its 5G chips to the second. A contract that could end in 2024, when Apple can use its own modem and only that one. Qualcomm's deliveries could however be reduced more quickly as the development of the in-house chip progresses: the group indeed foresees that by 2023 (i.e. the iPhone 15?), it will only supply 20% of the number total of Apple smartphones.

The gradual loss of this big customer means that eventually Apple will only represent a "single-digit" percentage of Qualcomm's "chip" business by the end of fiscal year 2024 (it weighed for $27 billion in 2021). The founder can however rely on other manufacturers who continue to use its modems, such as Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.