Apple’s Secret Labs Revealed

If you’ve been following Apple news for a while, you’ll know that one unbreakable constant is the secrecy with which the company surrounds the development of its products. Both in material as in software. Being able to visit the most important laboratories and offices of Apple Park is reserved for a very lucky few.

But from time to time, we can take a look thanks to the authorization that Apple gives to certain media. This is the case of CNBC, which was able to enter at the beginning of the month one of the complex secrets of Apple Silicon chip design.

This is where Apple chips are put to the test

These are things you don’t even see at Apple events. In the CNBC video that you can see above, we can see how in Apple Park (in a specific location that is not revealed) there are “chip labs” filled with shelves with what look like motherboards dedicated to test the designs that Apple creates for future generations of its products

The person responsible for making sure everything goes smoothly is Godfrey D’Souza, Senior Director of Validation material. He himself explains to us what the main task of his team consists of find manufacturing and/or design defects in your chips and solve them. Getting as close as possible to perfection to guarantee the reliability and efficiency that we are used to seeing on iPhones and Macs, all under the direction of Johny Srouji and John Ternus.

The tests to which the chips are subjected are not specified for obvious reasons, but it is implied that temperature tests are among the most important tests carried out in these facilities. One of the biggest challenges for any chip or SoC is being able to cool itself, even without active ventilation and in devices as small as the Apple Watch or AirPods.

Srouji and Ternus discuss what they consider to be great achievements in the latest chips they have launched. These include the possibility of offering the ray tracing effect (Laser trace) in the iPhone 15 Pro, thanks to the A17 Pro chips. They also point out that they have already used 3nm photolotography in these chips and in the M3, and that the race to reduce the size of transistors continues.

The challenges of 2024 and beyond: more independence, diversification of production and AI

CNBC puts Apple’s challenges for the future on the table: become more and more independent, ceasing to depend on other manufacturers for components that remain essential. Like the 5G modem, which is still from Qualcomm when we know that Cupertino has wanted to have its own for years. The most pessimistic rumors say we won’t see it before the end of the decade.

Another challenge is the diversification of production, an issue which we have discussed several times in this Assembly. The geopolitical situation makes all companies want to Stop depending so much on China, agreeing with suppliers to install their complexes in other Asian countries or even in the United States. This will be something progressive that we see over the next few years.

But Perhaps the most important thing to talk about is AI: All companies adopted it after the emergence of ChatGPT. Big tech companies are working to adapt their chips to be able to make them work more efficiently, and Apple hasn’t rested on its laurels. In the interview, Srouji and Ternus are asked if Apple has been left behind in the AI ​​revolution. Srouji replies that he doesn’t believe it at all and Ternus resolves it with a simple “there’s nothing to worry about”.

Apple executives recognize this AI revolution, but consider that they have a window of competitiveness thanks to the design of their own chips. And we know there are assets like Apple MLX and Ajax in the works, with iOS 18 expected to open the doors to Apple’s own generative artificial intelligence.

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