Intel's Mobile Chip Missed Opportunities
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This video by Snazzy Labs explores the historical missed opportunity where Intel declined to produce chips for the original iPhone, a decision often cited as one of the worst in business history.
The Intel-Apple Missed Connection- The Proposal: In 2005, Steve Jobs approached Intel CEO Paul Otellini to provide processors for a secret project—the iPhone [ 07:51].
- The Rejection: Otellini turned Apple down because he believed the forecasted sales wouldn’t cover the development costs and Intel’s x86 architecture was superior to ARM, which they viewed as a "toy" [ 08:24].
- The Irony: Intel actually owned the most advanced ARM designs (StrongARM/XScale) at the time but sold the division in 2006 to focus on x86, just as the mobile revolution was beginning [ 09:05].
Intel’s Failed "Invasion" of AndroidYears after the iPhone's success, Intel tried to force its way back into mobile with x86-based Android devices, which the host demonstrates through two "relics":
- Dell Venue 8 7000 (2014):
- Powered by an Intel Atom Z3580 [ 18:21].
- At the time, it was the thinnest tablet in the world (6mm), thinner than the contemporary iPad Air [ 13:08].
- Features a "Real Sense" depth-sensing camera system with three rear lenses for measuring objects and refocusing photos [ 21:07].
- Asus ZenFone 2 (2015):
- The world's first smartphone with 4GB of RAM [ 26:07].
- Aggressively priced at $299, largely because Intel was heavily subsidizing the chips to gain market share [ 27:19].
Compatibility and Failure- The "Houdini" Solution: To solve the issue of apps built for ARM, Intel created a binary translator called Houdini (similar to Apple's Rosetta) to run ARM instructions on x86 chips [ 35:43].
- The End of the Road: Despite the chips being surprisingly capable, Intel couldn't keep pace with Qualcomm’s release cycles. In April 2016, Intel officially canceled its mobile chip development and laid off 12,000 employees [ 38:03].
The video concludes that Intel's downfall in mobile wasn't due to bad engineering, but rather hubris and a decade of late starts, leaving them to watch ARM dominate the modern computing landscape [ 38:53].
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Snazzy Labs · 371K views
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