Apple Had To Leave Intel, Alleges Former Intel Engineer

This is a startling revelation, and one that offers significant closure to Apple’s divisive decision to ditch Intel CPUs for ARM based ones. PCGamer.com reported that a former Intel engineer revealed this tidbit on his YouTube channel. François Piednoël, the person in question, speaks of the turmoil at the chipmaker’s facility in terms of quality control.

Piednoël says that Intel’s Skylake architecture drew the ire of Cupertino’s team due to the relative number of quality control problems it had. This didn’t bode well for a company that at one point, seemed to be at the top of the world. Until recently, Intel dominated the PC processor sector, its chips were literally untouchable in terms of computing power and capabilities.

However, that lead gradually whittled away due in part to the company’s inability to advance beyond its 14nm manufacturing process. AMD was able to overcome this with its Ryzen based chips, which offered better performance and at cheaper prices. Adding salt to injury, in the past few years, independent researchers have found flaws at the hardware level of Intel chips.

This sudden fall from grace baffled many, especially since it was perceived as though Intel had a good handle on things. But Piednoël’s rant about what went on behind closed doors, has shed some light on the situation, and helped fill in some gaps in the entire saga. This is especially true of Apple’s decision to embrace ARM based chips for its computer division.

Apple’s decision to move away from the x86 architecture wasn’t taken lightly but in the end, was done based on operational prudence. That said, this will finally help the company lessen the divide between its mobile and computer based platforms. Allowing developers to run apps across multiple platforms foster better efficiency and cost-effectiveness.