It’s not exactly likely, but there are solid reasons why Apple could now buy Intel
Apple left Intel behind four years ago now, but a resurrected rumor says Apple is thinking about buying the long-running chipmaker. It’s absolute nonsense, but if it ever happened, it would make a curious end to the Wintel story.
Apple did buy Intel’s entire modem division back in 2019, but this rumor says it would just acquire the whole firm. The same rumor does say that perhaps Samsung would be more likely, and there are even others, but it’s Apple who would be most interesting. Not to mention the most funny.
For back in the day, Windows and Intel were this dominant partnership. They were so strong that the PC was regularly referred to as Wintel, and it was Wintel machines that kept the Mac struggling to even be a niche player.
Those days aren’t exactly gone, but there’s been a lot more losing than winning for Intel in the last many years. Once the absolute leading edge in processor design, it’s become better known now for launching press releases, and denying chip failures.
Those press releases always prove that Intel is about to unveil a processor that will revolutionize the world and return the firm to its glory days. It may yet happen, but it hasn’t so far, and it’s not looking like Tim Cook is going to regret moving Apple away from Intel any time soon.
That’s despite Intel still wanting Apple to come back, in at least some form.
Now according to the YouTube channel “Moore’s Law is Dead” and its presenter Tom S., Apple could be coming back to Intel. It just wouldn’t be coming to buy some processors, it would be coming to buy the company.
Tom S. repeatedly stresses that this is a rumor that has little backing. He stresses that the most he can say is being whispered about is that various firms are circling Intel at the moment.
That includes Samsung, which he maintains could be a more likely buyer for Intel, and Qualcomm. But the idea of a Qualcomm/Intel partnership might actually be one of the many reasons why Apple could well be looking at a deal.
Together Qualcomm and Intel might compete with Nvidia or AMD — and could compete in all of the same markets that Apple does. Intel is seemingly not yet weak enough that Qualcomm could easily buy it, but Apple could and that would prevent two of its rivals combining.
Practical benefits
There are also seemingly practical benefits to Apple, including simply having more capacity for producing processors. Intel does have expertise, too, so it could provide a genuine help to Apple Silicon design.
Plus Intel and Apple are both American companies, so “Moore’s Law is Dead” argues that the US might be more likely than not to allow a merger. That’s debatable, especially in the current climate that sees the DOJ looking to break up Big Tech firms like Apple and Google.
It also ignores how other countries and their regulators could have something say about Apple buying Intel. Big Tech is a global business, which is why the UK was able to kill Microsoft’s deal to buy Activision — until being persuaded to reconsider by reasoned argument.
If global scrutiny were not likely to silence a merger, there would still be some practical benefits to Apple of pressing ahead with it. For instance, that extra capacity Intel’s foundries could provide is in the US, which might prove to be a boon if the next administration raises tariffs.
So Apple buying Intel is again and will always be nonsense. It’s just about as ludicrous as the years-long insistence that it will buy Disney.
And yet, there would be at least a little chutzpah if Apple did it. There are people at Apple with long memories, and they might just enjoy seeing the future of Windows PCs depend on it.
