Intel gets foot in mouth about ARM-twisting iPhone comments

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Damage control kicked into overdrive at the world's largest chipmaker this week in the wake of comments from two Intel executives who had a field day badmouthing the iPhone and its embedded ARM processor during a public developer forum, apparently without the company's blessing.



The gaffe prompted Intel'sÂ*senior vice president Anand Chandrasekher to publish a correction Thursday on his Chip Shots blog over the "inappropriate" comments made by its lower-level executives, who took turns whaling on the iPhone as a device incapable of providing true Internet access due to alleged limitations of its ARM-based microprocessor.



"It's hard to see this as anything other than an formal apology to Apple and ARM for comments made by Intel's Shane Wall and Pankaj Kedia at the company's Intel Developer Forum in Taipei," wrote CNet News.com's Tom Krazit.



"Among other things, the executives resurrected Intel's lame 'ARM chips can't handle the Internet' argument and singled out the iPhone as an example of a smartphone that could be really awesome if it only used one of Intel's low-power x86 architecture processors, known as Atom."



In his correction, Chandrasekher attempted to distance the firm from the executives' remarks and conceded that Atom has a long ways to go before it can attempt to rival the powerÂ*efficiencyÂ*and battery life characteristics that ARM chips provide for handheld devices, a key element of the processor architecture's dominate use in over 90 percent of mobile phones worldwide.



He added that his subordinates had no business posturing Intel technology by criticizing the designs of partners, and even went one to praise the iPhone as an "innovative product" that has spawned broad market potential:



Anand Chandrasekher issued a correction on comments made by members of his team yesterday at Intel's Developer Forum in Taiwan. As general manager of the Group responsible for Intel's ultra-mobility products, he acknowledged that Intel's low-power Atom processor does not yet match the battery life characteristics of the ARM processor in a phone form factor; and, that while Intel does have plans on the books to get us to be competitive in the ultra low power domain - we are not there as yet. Secondly, Apple's iPhone offering is an extremely innovative product that enables new and exciting market opportunities. The statements made in Taiwan were inappropriate, and Intel representatives should not have been commenting on specific customer designs.



Unlike rival electronics and PC makers who largely follow Intel's architectural lead, Apple has proven to be remarkably successful at beating to the sound of its own drum. It's resisted Intel's claims that x86 processors represent the clear architectural path to powering the future of mobile computing, and has instead acquired chip designer P.A. Semi to begin work on future generation of ARM-based SOCs for iPhones and iPods that will offer unique advantages, and further distance the company from its peers.



Apple would also like to apologize...



But as CNet's Krazit points out, Intel's apology raises the question of whether, after three years of unfettered cooperation, there's a bit of bad blood brewing between the chipmaker and Apple over differences in their mobile hardware strategies.



In the end, "they'll be fine, although Intel is sleeping on the couch tonight," he wrote. "This week's exercise, however, is an interesting example of how much power Apple wields over one of the most important and historic companies in technology."



Intel is likely to be particularly conscious of its standing with Apple given that the Mac maker has recently replaced the Intel controller chipsets it has used ever since its transition to Intel CPUs in 2006 with a new more powerful controller from NVIDIA in its latest line of top selling MacBooks.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 25
    msnlymsnly Posts: 378member
    That video puts the icing on the cake



    I'm glad to see Intel kissing Apple's ass, thats a good thing for us.
  • Reply 2 of 25
    hillstoneshillstones Posts: 1,490member
    Don't forget the previous "Snail Ad" Commercial featuring the Pentium II on top of a Snail, claiming to be the fastest processor at the time.
  • Reply 3 of 25
    yamayama Posts: 427member
    I'd love to find out what happened to those two "lower-level" execitives.
  • Reply 4 of 25
    ktappektappe Posts: 823member
    I would pay money to hear the phone call that went from Steve Jobs to Intel HQ that resulted in this profuse apology.
  • Reply 5 of 25
    kreshkresh Posts: 379member
    It would be awesome if Apple released a Phenom powered Mac Mini, just to remind Intel that Apple bought into the X86 platform but there happens to be two vendors for it!



    Not that I think it is even remotely possible, now if Apple had turned to the ATI 780 chipsets then I would hope for a Phenom something from Apple. Even if Apple did not use AMD chips right now, if they had went with the 780 Intel would always be waiting for that shoe to drop.



    This statement by the two lower level executives is not the only Intel slap aimed Apple's way. Remember the specially packaged chip for the MacBook Air that Intel did at Apple's request? I am sure it made Apple mad when Intel shopped it to other companies.





    Edit: Don't get me wrong. I realize that Nvidia (CUDA) is the best choice by far since Apple will be leaning on OpenCL and Grand Central.
  • Reply 6 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post


    I would pay money to hear the phone call that went from Steve Jobs to Intel HQ that resulted in this profuse apology.



    How much? just out of interest



    I would pay $30



    any advances?
  • Reply 7 of 25
    Quote:

    Apple has proven to be remarkably successful at beating to the sound of its own drum.



    Please --



    Marching to the beat of its own drum.



    It's like the Intertubes have spawned a thousand Biff Tannens.
  • Reply 8 of 25
    embeeembee Posts: 18member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    How much? just out of interest



    I would pay $30



    any advances?



    I'm in, too. I'd at least pay another $15.
  • Reply 9 of 25
    buzdotsbuzdots Posts: 452member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post


    I would pay money to hear the phone call that went from Steve Jobs to Intel HQ that resulted in this profuse apology.



    That phone call probably went the other way... with plenty of chocolates and roses.
  • Reply 10 of 25
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Prufrock View Post


    Please --



    Marching to the beat of its own drum.



    It's like the Intertubes have spawned a thousand Biff Tannens.



    +10 Cultural Reference Points
  • Reply 11 of 25
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    At the time, 1) Apple and Intel where not partners, and 2) the PowerPC was the overall faster of the two processors. In some ways, the Power PC is still the superior, which can be seen by Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo using it in their gaming devices.



    Apple was right to jump ship though, as Motorola and IBM were jerking Apple around and there are huge benefits to running on the same processor as Windows.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hillstones View Post


    Don't forget the previous "Snail Ad" Commercial featuring the Pentium II on top of a Snail, claiming to be the fastest processor at the time.



  • Reply 12 of 25
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    People forget that Jobs and Intel's CEO are good friends.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ktappe View Post


    I would pay money to hear the phone call that went from Steve Jobs to Intel HQ that resulted in this profuse apology.



  • Reply 13 of 25
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    I doubt Apple is mad at Intel for any particular reason. With the Macbook Air chip, Intel was only giving it a limited time exclusive agreement. Apple would have known that. Moreover, as I said AMD used to be on top of the world. However, it dropped the ball and allowed Intel to reclaim the crown. Since Jobs and Intel CEO Paul Otellini are friends, I suspect Apple and Intel are trying to have a good relationship.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kresh View Post


    It would be awesome if Apple released a Phenom powered Mac Mini, just to remind Intel that Apple bought into the X86 platform but there happens to be two vendors for it!



    Not that I think it is even remotely possible, now if Apple had turned to the ATI 780 chipsets then I would hope for a Phenom something from Apple. Even if Apple did not use AMD chips right now, if they had went with the 780 Intel would always be waiting for that shoe to drop.



    This statement by the two lower level executives is not the only Intel slap aimed Apple's way. Remember the specially packaged chip for the MacBook Air that Intel did at Apple's request? I am sure it made Apple mad when Intel shopped it to other companies.





    Edit: Don't get me wrong. I realize that Nvidia (CUDA) is the best choice by far since Apple will be leaning on OpenCL and Grand Central.



  • Reply 14 of 25
    vinney57vinney57 Posts: 1,162member
    Shane and Pankaj will now have to perform 'the Act of Supplication' in the special room that Steve reserves for these occasions. Their families have been informed.
  • Reply 15 of 25
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    I guess the guy found his copy of the "don't talk bad about a customer's products" memo too late for the presentation.
  • Reply 16 of 25
    hirohiro Posts: 2,663member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by monstrosity View Post


    How much? just out of interest



    I would pay $30



    any advances?



    No phone call was necessary. Senior Intel execs are smart enough to remember ATi's gaffe and went into overdrive to prevent themselves from getting Steved all on their own initiative.
  • Reply 17 of 25
    bugsnwbugsnw Posts: 717member
    I can't wait to see what Apple's purchase of P.A. Semi yields. Differentiation is so important and is capable of commanding nice premiums for Apple's products.



    Apple smartly tries to keep multiple vendors in its pocket at all times. It seems to encourage rabid competition and innovation. Now Intel will work their butts off and throw tons of R&D at more powerful solutions tailor made for Apple. This is all good. It's also good for prices. With the iPhone, we don't want Apple paying for Arm AND a Leg.



    We need longer lasting batteries.... Intel, somebody?
  • Reply 18 of 25
    I just saw it as more of Intel bashing something they used to own, than anything really wrong with the iPhone or Apple. And the Arm CPU is pretty slow though, it's lagging with displaying the KB animations right now on my Touch.
  • Reply 19 of 25
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,951member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by guinness View Post


    I just saw it as more of Intel bashing something they used to own, than anything really wrong with the iPhone or Apple. And the Arm CPU is pretty slow though, it's lagging with displaying the KB animations right now on my Touch.



    Intel owned one implementation of ARM, but they never owned ARM itself. Apple is using a different implementation.
  • Reply 20 of 25
    It's time IT companies started to put up or shut up with their own products, instead of bad-mouthing each other (Apple and Microsoft, I'm talking to you, too). No-one wants to hear this kind of crap, and you can be sure no-one is more likely to go out and buy an Intel-powered mobile device because of these two jackasses running their mouths off.



    Don't like the iPhone and ARM? Then show us something better. Oh, right, you can't.
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