Companies are trying to get rid of the dependance on other chip makers for their PCs. After Apple introducing its M1 chip, Microsoft is also rumored to be working on its own ARM-based silicon chip.
By Sayyed Shehzer Abbas
Most probably these ARM-based processors will be used in servers for Microsoft’s Azure cloud services as well as Surface laptops. Microsoft’s communications chief said:
“Because silicon is a foundational building block for technology, we’re continuing to invest in our own capabilities in areas like design, manufacturing, and tools, while also fostering and strengthening partnerships with a wide range of chip providers.”
Microsoft recently showed intentions to move away from Intel as the company partnered up with AMD and Qualcomm to provide computer chips for their Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro X, and some other devices. And if this development turns out to be true, this could bring Intel to worse situations.
Intel has been in the market for nearly five decades providing chips to computer manufacturers. But in recent times, the popularity of Intel has started to fade out. Intel had majority shares when it comes to consumer PC chips, but AMD has been successfully taking over this market with its own processors. It all went wrong for Intel in May 2020, when Intel’s top chip architect Jim Keller resigned the company only after two years in the company. Keller was the finest chip architect who designed Digital Equipment’s Alpha chip which was considered fastest in the world in the late 1990s.
Intel’s current position is not uncommon for a large market leader faced by the challenges of a changing sector with multiple competitors aiming for it from a variety of directions. The problem it has is failing to deliver substantive, innovative new products and relying on previous brand status or advertising to cover the shortfall.
Companies producing their own chips has been in the news for the past few years. Prior to this, Microsoft’s cloud computing competitor, Amazon revealed their own ARM-based Graviton2 processor chips for improving performance and cost advantages. And for the same reason Microsoft might be launching their own chips too.