Earlier today, the news came out that Apple was acquiring chip designer P.A. Semi for $278 million. In February 2007, P.A. Semi debuted a 64-bit dual core processor which claimed to be "300% more efficient than any comparable chips" running at 2GHz and consuming 5-13 watts of power.
While the news generated speculation that Apple might use P.A. Semi's low power PowerPC chips in future iPhones or iPods, Beyond3D points out that these chips require far more power than can be expected for use in the iPhone or iPod.
Instead, EETimes provides some additional insight into Apple's motivations on the acquisition. According to comments made directly to P.A. Semi's customers, Apple is "not interested in the startup's products or road map, but is buying the company for its intellectual property and engineering talent." In fact, P.A. Semi also told customers that they would be unable to guarantee a supply of its chips in the future.
As it turns out, this may cause some resistance to the acquisition, as P.A. Semi's chips are reportedly used in a number of ongoing Department of Defense projects.
Sunday November 8, 2026 7:42 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has made a change to its development process for iOS 28, macOS 28, and corresponding software updates, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his Power On newsletter today, he said Apple separates development of each year's new operating systems into three major stages. Typically, he said each stage consists of four weeks of coding followed by a four-week "convergence" period where...
Friday November 6, 2026 3:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
When the iPhone Duo launched, we shared a list of some of the fun apps developers created for the new form factor. Two weeks out, developers are continuing to come up with fresh ideas, so we thought we'd share some of our favorites.
Games
Marbles Unhinged ($2.99) - Marbles Unhinged is a marble maze designed for the Duo. When you fold it, the floor turns into a ramp. If you stand the top...
Thursday November 5, 2026 12:59 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is launching five new products on Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models.
The following new products will be available from today:
iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip
iMac with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen
16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...
