Apple has never been one to shy away from trying to make their own hardware, presumably because this cuts down on being dependent on third-party companies, as well as allowing them a greater degree of control on how their hardware and software works with each other. This has resulted in the A-series of chipsets found in iPhones and iPads.
However it seems that Apple could have lost one of their key architects in the form of Manu Gulati, who in a report from Variety has apparently left Apple to work for Google and will now be leading Google’s own SoC efforts. This was confirmed by Gulati’s public LinkedIn profile in which his new job listed is for the lead SoC architect at Google.
This also highlights how it appears that Google is interested in making their own chipsets. Google has been relying on third-party chipsets for the longest time ever, such as Qualcomm in which quite a few Google Nexus and Pixel products are found to be powered by Qualcomm’s technology.
We’re not sure when Google will ever debut a device that will be powered by their own chipsets, but perhaps the shift from the Nexus to Pixel branding, as well as certain Pixel-exclusive features, could be a sign of things to come, but either way it’s just something we’ll have to wait and see if it comes to fruition.