Over 9 months after Apple announced its new Munich-based chip design factory, Apple has begun hiring engineers with experience in modem chips and wireless semiconductors in Irvine, California. One recently Bloomber the report confirms the development and specifies that Apple is looking for people with experience in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi semiconductors, wireless radios, radio frequency integrated circuits and wireless system-on-a-chip designs.
This marks another clear sign that Apple is working hard to switch away from the Qualcomm modems and wants to develop its own internal wireless chips for future products.
According to the new report, Apple’s Irvine expansion is still in its infancy with plans to gradually increase its presence. In addition to its Irvine and Munich expansions, Apple has also begun setting up chip offices throughout the United States in Portland, Oregon, Austin, Texas and Orlando, Florida, as well as outside the United States in Haifa and Herzliya in Israel. These locations are not random, as they are strategically located in the backyard of existing chip vendors such as Intel, AMD and Infineon Technologies AG. Apple is also expected to expand its chip development plans in Massachusetts and Japan.
