Just two days after the presentation of the new Apple Silicon M1 Pro and M1 Max, it is already quite clear that from now on, Intel will not have to look carefully only at AMD but also at the Cupertino company (for some, it was already so in reality ).
After the “divorce” between the two technological giants, sanctioned remember by Apple M1 – the first Apple Silicon produced at home – Intel lost a vital customer to essentially find itself with a competitor who does not joke and who, with turnover in hand, has all the means to continue on this path and expand one’s leadership.
The CEO of Intel, Pat Gelsinger, is well aware of this. In a recent interview with Axios, he took stock of the situation without hiding behind any “attacks” on the competition, typical of big brands when the competition starts to be felt.
In recent days Gelsinger had been apparent on the head to head with AMD given the launch of the Alder Lake-S processors. The same seems to be on this occasion, albeit always with a pinch of challenge.
Intel CEO clearly stated: ” Apple has decided to build their own SoCs and is doing it very well “; at the same time, however, he does not accept that “something” had gone wrong in recent years for Intel chips – when he was not in the office so to speak – and the only solution to regain market leadership is to make better chips than competitors.
Gelsinger is very sure of his position, and the company’s potential – and God forbid – so much so that he does not rule out a possible return of Apple as an Intel customer (perhaps he is exaggerating).
The projects in the pipeline between now and three years are many. With Alder Lake, we could see the first change of direction; the focal point, however, is the 3nm EUV products where the Santa Clara giant is making heavy investments with a view to the future.
Pat Gelsinger’s speech is quite extensive and touches on other issues inherent to the current position on the Intel processor market. On this point, the CEO does not mince words and unloads on his predecessors the loss of competitiveness of recent years, apparently linked to competence issues.
Gelsinger doesn’t mention names, of course. Still, he claims that his predecessor had somehow altered the company’s business, focusing on new niches and losing sight of the importance of making quality chips.
According to the current CEO, Intel’s most recent administrations were made up, with more people looking at revenue than engineers, leading to the results we all know.