In one of my several lives, I’m supposed to be a vulnerability researcher working on baseband exploitation. As every vulnerability researcher knows, being up to date with recent developments is of utmost importance for the success of your job. So of course, after Apple announced its new, shiny, big, bigger and biggest line of iPhone smartphones, I downloaded some OTA firmwares from ipsw.me and started to look into the new baseband firmware.
What I discovered sent a shiver of horror down my spine, the kind of horror that only playing Doom at nighttime, alone in your room, without lights, can produce. Bear with me and I’ll tell you what I found…
So the baseband processor inside the iPhone XS is a tiny x86 processor. That’s not really all that meaningful or impactful, but I find it deeply fascinating nonetheless.
Just sayin’
But, considering Intel makes the baseband processors used in new phones, it makes sense they’d use an x86 core. Lots of x86 experience in that organization…
Edited 2018-09-15 00:45 UTC
The difference being that Apple moving its laptops to ARM is pretty much a given by now, whereas there’s no way in hell the iPhone is moving to x86.
In other words, false equivalency.
(…this may be a way more serious reply than you intended with your lighthearded tone so uh… Uh?
)
Hi,
Apple is moving laptops to x86, and Microsoft is moving XBox to their E2 Edge CPUs, and Google is switching to Fuschia, Intel is releasing a quantum computer, and HP is unveiling “The Machine”. It’s all going to happen on Thursday next week, and to celebrate such a momentous occasion all of these companies will be holding a combined press release in the morning where they’ll release a flock of pigs that will spend the rest of the day flying over Washington.
– Brendan
Already happened
https://venturebeat.com/2017/05/16/hp-enterprise-unveils-single-memo…
Intel makes non x86 stuff as well. They have a valid arm license through strongarm, they have a mips license (mips technology) they have a x86_amd64 license (AMD), a RISC POWER license through IBM, A 68k license (through Motorola and Freescale). They selectively use all those licenses in their FPGA:cores (bought altera in 2015 for 17 billion).
Intel also has licenses from VIA, nVidia, SiS and many others that “corss license” their tech. For example every company that makes video capable chips has to pay license fees to S3 for texture compression.
I’m pretty sure Intel sold their StongARM license
Intel is designing/manufacturing chips with ARM cores and have all required licenses.
Edited 2018-09-17 15:25 UTC
I’m actually a little surprised: Intel tend to prefer one of their failed RISC CPU’s for embedded stuff.
It might still be seen as somewhat strange – after Intel bought now-their baseband chips business, it must’ve taken some effort to move them from, presumably, ARM …to what benefit?
Hm, maybe the biggest news here is that IIRC Qualcomm fell into disfavor when it comes to iPhones baseband chips…
Hi,
In January 2018, the EU fined Qualcomm $1.2 billion for violating antitrust laws because they were paying Apple to use their chips exclusively (to prevent competition).
Before that (January 2017) Apple tried to sue Qualcomm for over-charging for their chips; and a week before that the FTC (Fair Trade Commission in US) accused Qualcomm of charging excessive royalties on patents used for 3G (and was sued by shareholders as a result).
It’s not hard to make “educated guesses” to fill in the gaps (and assume that in response to being caught over-charging Qualcomm offered Apple cheaper prices if they agreed to use Qualcomms chips exclusively, and assume that after Qualcomms was caught using anti-competitive they stopped paying Apple to use their chips and Apple choose to switch to Intel instead of returning to Qualcomm’s over-charging).
– Brendan
So, where is the horror part? Just because the author doesn’t like x86?
It was just the author trying to be funny. He writes at the end that he doesn’t really care either way. It seems he just thought it was odd and hadn’t expected it.
But the question is, does it run Minix? *RollsEyes*
https://itsfoss.com/fact-intel-minix-case/
Except a big smile and a casual consideration to the esential holeness of the industry.