Marco Arment

fab size because most of these wireless chips are fabbed at like a two-generation old things to be cheaper or whatever apple can spend a little bit more because of their massive you know deals with dsmc right and that like you know given like the amount of power especially a cell chip uses like that that could be substantial savings there but like you know so there's obviously like there's like the physical benefits uh you know if they could integrate it in put it in package or at least make it on their process yes there's lots of advantages they could potentially do there but even if you think about too like

fab size because most of these wireless chips are fabbed at like a two-generation old things to be cheaper or whatever apple can spend a little bit more because of their massive you know deals with dsmc right and that like you know given like the amount of power especially a cell chip uses like that that could be substantial savings there but like you know so there's obviously like there's like the physical benefits uh you know if they could integrate it in put it in package or at least make it on their process yes there's lots of advantages they could potentially do there but even if you think about too like

Apple does a lot of their own custom bolting on of functionality onto existing open standards like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Look at how AirPods pair and work. Look at all the Wi-Fi stuff they do for peer-to-peer Wi-Fi networks that are temporarily made for things like AirDrop and stuff like that. There's all sorts of features that Apple builds on top of these standards.

Apple does a lot of their own custom bolting on of functionality onto existing open standards like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Look at how AirPods pair and work. Look at all the Wi-Fi stuff they do for peer-to-peer Wi-Fi networks that are temporarily made for things like AirDrop and stuff like that. There's all sorts of features that Apple builds on top of these standards.

Well, if they controlled the hardware, I bet they could do more and better features like that. Now, that's...

Well, if they controlled the hardware, I bet they could do more and better features like that. Now, that's...

kind of a double-edged sword you know because you think about well is it a good thing for apple to have even more proprietary protocols and standards that you know that can even maybe go at the hardware and radio level the eu will make them open it up to all third-party developers that'll be fine Yeah, I'm sure that'll be fine with everybody.

kind of a double-edged sword you know because you think about well is it a good thing for apple to have even more proprietary protocols and standards that you know that can even maybe go at the hardware and radio level the eu will make them open it up to all third-party developers that'll be fine Yeah, I'm sure that'll be fine with everybody.

So it could be a double-edged sword in the sense that they could use it for further extents of lock-in and unfair competition. So there will be downsides to this path if they go on it.

So it could be a double-edged sword in the sense that they could use it for further extents of lock-in and unfair competition. So there will be downsides to this path if they go on it.

I mean, you're right. Obviously, in most cases, that is kind of a blend of hardware and software, and those lines are very squishy these days with a lot of these very complex protocols. But I think you are looking at it from the perspective of, like, Touch Bar, Butterfly Keyboard-era Apple. And that's not the Apple we have anymore, thank God. You know, modern Apple, I think, is showing...

I mean, you're right. Obviously, in most cases, that is kind of a blend of hardware and software, and those lines are very squishy these days with a lot of these very complex protocols. But I think you are looking at it from the perspective of, like, Touch Bar, Butterfly Keyboard-era Apple. And that's not the Apple we have anymore, thank God. You know, modern Apple, I think, is showing...

They really don't ship bad hardware anymore. They used to ship a decent amount of it. The hardware across the board is excellent these days. They really do not have major hardware problems that ship to customers, and especially in the iPhone. So I think...

They really don't ship bad hardware anymore. They used to ship a decent amount of it. The hardware across the board is excellent these days. They really do not have major hardware problems that ship to customers, and especially in the iPhone. So I think...

I am optimistic that probably the reason we haven't seen these things yet, you know, we'll occasionally see a report that, oh, the cell mode has been delayed. I think part of the reason we haven't seen them yet is because Apple is probably holding them to very, very high standards and won't release them until they know they're solid. So I'm pretty optimistic.

I am optimistic that probably the reason we haven't seen these things yet, you know, we'll occasionally see a report that, oh, the cell mode has been delayed. I think part of the reason we haven't seen them yet is because Apple is probably holding them to very, very high standards and won't release them until they know they're solid. So I'm pretty optimistic.

I think this will go well if and when it ever happens. And I think if it doesn't happen or doesn't happen yet, it's probably for those reasons. It's probably that they just haven't reached the bar that Apple knows they need to reach to be good enough to ship in their flagship products. And so I actually think this – because if you think too, how else could this benefit us?

I think this will go well if and when it ever happens. And I think if it doesn't happen or doesn't happen yet, it's probably for those reasons. It's probably that they just haven't reached the bar that Apple knows they need to reach to be good enough to ship in their flagship products. And so I actually think this – because if you think too, how else could this benefit us?

Well, how else could it benefit us if cell modems get smaller and or more efficient or cheaper for Apple? Huh? Maybe the Mac will finally get a cell modem.

Well, how else could it benefit us if cell modems get smaller and or more efficient or cheaper for Apple? Huh? Maybe the Mac will finally get a cell modem.