In the run-up to the iPhone’s launch in 2007, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs made a fateful decision: Apple would not turn to its partner Intel to make chips for the device, on the grounds that the firm was “really slow…like a steamship,” as Jobs put it. Apple would rely on up-and-comer ARM instead.
Jobs’ decision helped set off a two-decade decline for an iconic Silicon Valley brand. The company was once so celebrated for its chipmaking innovations that hardware makers clamored to attach “Intel inside” stickers to their devices. But Intel went on to miss not only the mobile revolution, but the AI era, as competitors stole its market share.
