The future of technology includes AI, and Apple is committed to being part of that future. To that end, a new report says the companies are forming partnerships to develop AI hardware.
According to The Information (subscription required), Apple is working with Broadcom to develop server chips that can handle AI processing requirements. The chip, codenamed Baltra, is expected to be ready by 2026. While Apple is working with Broadcom to develop Baltra, The Information reports that actual manufacturing will involve TSMC’s N3P process with improved 3nm production technology.
Last May, Bloomberg reported on the Apple Chips in Data Centers (ACDC) project, Apple’s effort to build cloud infrastructure using its own chips. Project ACDC was launched in 2021, but with the AI ​​boom, Apple has prioritized the project to support Apple Intelligence features. ACDC used the M2 Ultra chip in its M4 plans. It’s unclear whether Baltra will be part of the ACDC project, but it seems like a good fit.
AI technologies are processor-intensive, so much of the work is done in the cloud. Most of the other companies’ AI technologies rely on cloud processing. Apple has been able to develop many of its Apple Intelligence features so that processing occurs on the device, but as features evolve they become more complex and require the processing power provided by the cloud. If Apple successfully launches Baltra by 2026, more powerful and complex Apple Intelligence features could follow.
AI chips are all the rage, with Google announcing its own Willow quantum AI chip this week. Google said the chip, which represents the culmination of a decade of development, “performed standard benchmark calculations in less than five minutes that would take one of today’s fastest supercomputers 10 trillion years.”
On Wednesday, Apple introduced the second wave of its Apple Intelligence features, including the Image Playground app that can create AI-generated images. Genmoji are custom emojis that you create. ChatGPT-based authoring tools, etc. The new feature is available in iOS 18.2, iPadOS, 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 updates.
The Apple/Broadcom AI deal is the latest in the two companies’ shared history. Apple is working with Broadcom on RF filters for Apple’s own 5G modem, which will launch in the iPhone SE in 2025. Additionally, a report last October said Apple was developing its own Wi-Fi chip to replace the one made by Broadcom.
