Intel Corp (INTC)

[chipguy]

If Apple can do it, Intel should be able to do it better. MPUs are in these guys' blood, and they do have a process advantage.

Engineers don't randomly decide what to design, they get a req
doc from strategic marketing guys. Those guys project forward
to what it will take to have a compelling product in 3, 4, or 5+
years (depending on whether it is a shrink, a tweak, or brand
new uarch) and like Dilbert said, it is mainly liquor and guessing.

The answer isn't always simply moar GHz, IPC, and cores please!
Remember there are big penalties to OVER specing a low end chip -
higher costs and lower margins, higher power, and encroachment
across market segmentation boundaries.

IMO Intel got far more right with Bay Trail than it got wrong.

Anyway Apple processors are a non-issue. It doesn't sell them
to others and Intel wouldn't have won the iPhone 5 socket even
if 1) it had a phone SKU with the BYT cpu ready, 2) it was 30%
faster than it is, and 3) the A7 was 30% slower than it is. It is a
canard with respect to Intel's mobile efforts that too many folks
are totally hung up on. Merchant ARM MPU folks like Qualcomm,
Samsung, Nvidia and others are the targets in Intel's sights.