Apple secures ‘critical’ iPhone tech in $600m deal with UK-based firm
Chip supplier Dialog Semiconductor handing over assets and staff to US giant
Apple has struck a $600m (£454m) deal with technology firm Dialog Semiconductor that will drastically expand its microchip manufacturing operations.
Under the agreement, Apple is taking on 300 staff from the Anglo-German chipmaker and will licence processing technology that is “critical” to iPhone production, Reuters reports.
The Californian tech giant has used microchips sourced from Dialog, based in the Berkshire town of Reading, to “extend” the battery life of its smartphones since the first iPhone was released in 2007, the news site reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, Dialog’s shares have been in free fall since November, after Apple “threatened” to develop its own power-management chips, rather than buying them from the processor firm, according to Bloomberg.
The new multimillion-dollar deal “guarantees Apple’s custom for a while and ensures that Dialog doesn’t walk away with nothing”, the news site says.
Speaking to the BBC, Dialog chief executive Dr Jalal Bagherli said it was the best possible outcome for the company.
“They [Apple] wanted to create their own solutions in-house,” he said. “We could accelerate that, but in the process monetise some of our intellectual property assets and also find a home for many of our employees in a good company - I think it’s a win-win situation.”
Apple has already paid Dialog $300m (£226m) upfront to secure its power management technology, acquire lab equipment and patents, and take on the 300 employees, the Financial Times reports.
The remaining $300m will be paid out over the next three years, the newspaper says.
The deal is “largest of its kind by Apple”, beating the $350m (£265m) purchase of PrimeSense - creators of the iPhone X’s FaceID scanning technology - in 2013, adds Reuters.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138M
Speed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suit
Speed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Apple kills its secret electric car project
Speed Read Many of the people from Project Titan are being reassigned to work on generative AI
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The pros and cons of virtual reality
Pros and cons The digital world is expanding, for better and for worse
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The Apple Vision Pro's dystopian debut
Why everyone's talking about Is "spatial computing" the next big thing?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why Apple's carbon-neutral claims may be misleading
Speed Read The company isn't disclosing all the information, a new report alleges
By Devika Rao Published
-
The advent of the AI iPhone: does new tech show promise or peril?
Talking Point Apple design guru Jony Ive and OpenAI founder Sam Altman believed to be in talks to create new device
By The Week Staff Published
-
China steals the spotlight at Apple's iPhone 15 launch
How will a directive from the Chinese government affect the tech giant?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why is a tiny change to the iPhone's charger such a big deal?
Today's Big Question A change to comply with EU regulations could have global ramifications
By Justin Klawans Published