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Memory designs are pretty entrenched with the various patents involved... I've said a few times that I don't know why Intel hasn't gotten back into DRAM product
by tracker1 5mo ago
Memory designs are pretty entrenched with the various patents involved... I've said a few times that I don't know why Intel hasn't gotten back into DRAM production with their fabs. I suspect they may be contractually limited when they sold off their memory businesses.
- coldtea 5mo ago>Memory designs are pretty entrenched with the various patents involved... Can't be any more entrenched than CPUs, GPUs, and broadband chips, which Apple still designs.
- absolute8606 5mo agoFor CPUs, they are still licensing ARMs cores, of course with their own modifications, and they bought Intel’s modem businesses, which likely gave them the patents they needed. GPUs I can’t speak to on this though.
- throawayonthe 5mo agofor gpus i believe they license ip from PowerVR/Imagination
- SpecialistK 5mo agoThey used to. Switched to designing their own with the A11 about a decade ago.
- Marsymars 5mo ago> For CPUs, they are still licensing ARMs cores To be clear here, Apple doesn't actually license any cores from ARM - they've got an architectural license and implement their own cores. Licenses for cores are a different thing.
- absolute8606 5mo agoOh gotcha, I didn’t realize the distinction there! Very interesting, that’s a new rabbit hole to dive down.
- larkost 5mo agoDesign is not the problem. Having foundry space to manufacture is the bottleneck. It is just all being sucked up (with AI needs being the big additional load). And to be clear, the foundry space for CPUs/GPUs is not the same as for RAM, which is printed with much larger feature size in order to lower the costs.
- coldtea 5mo agoI agree design is not the problem. I am answering the claim that "the various patents involved" would be the show stopper.
- tracker1 5mo agoI don't think it's that... you have three companies that control over 90% of the market that have been convicted of collusion and price fixing more than once, when there were even more companies in the mix. The memory companies aren't producing at max capacity, they're price fixing. Beyond this, memory isn't produced on leading end nodes, they're a few generations back as it is. For that matter, Intel isn't even near capacity and has/had plenty of opportunity to produce VRAM and SSD Storage, they got out of both as they became more commoditized.
- tracker1 5mo agoAnd how much did Apple pay to get involved and overcome? There was LOTS of litigation involved.