It was already known that Apple is developing its own 5G chip and wants to say goodbye to the chip company Qualcomm as a supplier. But by including WiFi and Bluetooth in the same chip, the iPhone maker can also sideline Broadcom as a supplier.
Broadcom now gets a fifth of its revenue, about $7 billion (€6.5 billion), from Apple. For Qualcomm, Apple accounts for 22 percent of sales, or about $10 billion. But Qualcomm has feared for years that Apple might withdraw as a customer.
Earlier, Apple started making its own chips and pushed Intel aside for it. This cost the chipmaker a large part of its revenue.
By making chips on its own, Apple becomes less dependent on other companies. The tech company also has more control over costs.