Job listings show Apple is hiring engineers for a new office in Irvine, California to develop wireless chips that could replace Broadcom and Skyworks components
Apple’s Irvine hiring extends its wireless ambitions beyond the earlier recruiting for 6G work and into the components now supplied by Broadcom and Skyworks. It is a meaningful shift because Apple had also given Broadcom multiyear supply commitments, so the effort signals a parallel in-house capability rather than an immediate supplier exit.
Later reporting on a combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip frames the Irvine recruitment as part of a broader attempt to bring more wireless design under Apple’s control.
First-order effects
Apple is building an Irvine engineering team focused on wireless chips, creating an internal development path for parts currently sourced from Broadcom and Skyworks.
Broadcom and Skyworks face a clearer long-term risk to component positions in Apple devices, even as existing supply arrangements remain in place.
Second-order effects
Broadcom must balance supporting Apple’s current component needs with preserving differentiation as Apple develops competing internal designs.
Apple’s wireless-chip hiring raises the premium on specialized radio engineering talent, intensifying competition for the expertise needed to design and integrate connectivity components.
Third-order effects
If Apple converts these programs into shipped parts, wireless components would follow the broader device-chip shift toward vertically integrated design, reducing suppliers’ leverage at major OEMs.
The coexistence of supplier agreements and internal hiring points to a more modular sourcing model: Apple can retain external partners for selected components while building bargaining power through internal alternatives.
The trend: Apple is expanding internal silicon design from core processors into wireless connectivity, using in-house engineering to gain more control over its component stack.
New story: Apple is expanding development of in-house wireless chips, going after component makers like Broadcom and Skyworks with a new office in Irvine, an hour south of Los Angeles. Apple has already been building a modem to replace Qualcomm. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@dylan522p
Dylan Patel on x
@2ChaseGreatness @skaushi They built a nice office in San Diego a couple years back, and like 80% of the staff are $QCOM poaches. Apple North Carolina is similar story but a bit of $AVGO, $SWKS too, main focus there was $QRVO. Similar playbooks to what they did to Intel and so ma…
@philiped
Philip Elmer-DeWitt on x
Piper Sandler analyst pours cold water on Bloomberg's hot Apple scoop ["We believe dealing with complex RF technologies would require a great level of understanding and many more job functions than currently posted"]
@ravi_711
Ravi on x
We already knew that $QCOM was going to lose the iPhone modem and RF. It is a positive for Q if $AAPL also manages to replace $SWKS and $AVGO. The iPhone drives a huge amount of the cash that funds those companies' RF R&D. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@ravi_711
Ravi on x
@dylan522p I used to argue against companies going too far outside of their core expertise but clearly, that rule doesn't apply to Apple. Just incredible execution, over and over again.
@dylan522p
Dylan Patel on x
@Ravi_711 San Diego, Raleigh, and now this office. Everyone's gonna lose their Apple lunch eventually, but the others rely on apple a lot more to fund their R&D.
@ravi_711
Ravi on x
@BenBajarin If they are just ramping up hiring now, Skyworks has a few years before they might be replaced. or maybe Apple is playing the long game. Hire a few dozen engineers for millions and save billions on the price of Skyworks.
@newsynick
Nick Turner on x
Apple is staffing up in Orange County, which just happens to be where a lot of its current (possibly someday former) chip suppliers have offices https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @markgurman @ianmking
@benbajarin
Ben Bajarin on x
I always just figured they would buy Skyworks. Huge questions remain about the quality of Gen 1 Apple modem vs. QCOM. https://twitter.com/...