Apple A4 Chip Could be a $1 Billion Investment

A report in The New York Times has estimated that Apple’s new A4 chip was a $1 billion investment for the company. The report was profiling the rise of competitors to Intel such as Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm.

Intel has been trying to get companies to use its Atom processor for mobile devices, but Atom chips cost more and use more power than competing ARM chips, like Apple’s A4. The upcoming iPad will contain a 1 GHz Apple A4 processor. New laptops from HP and Lenovo will also contain ARM chips.

Apple first invested in chip-making when it bought P.A. Semi for $278 million. Of course, if the A4 really did cost $1 billion to build, then Apple’s investment went beyond the buying of P.A. Semi.

Apple has claimed that its chip is extremely power-efficient and will give users 10 hours of battery life on the iPad and up to a month on standby. Apple’s claims about battery life are always exaggerated, in my experience, so I would not expect the iPad to have that kind of battery life.

Via AppleInsider, image via AppleInsider.