Is bringing mobile/embedded and now desktop-class CPU design in-house really something one does as a cost-saving measure? Apple wants control over their entire stack, and sure, that relates to their business as a whole, but if this was solely about profit maximization surely there would be better strategies.
> it's still an investment not directly tied to product
I'm not sure I follow your reasoning here. Are you arguing it's not a direct investment because the CPUs aren't products in and of themselves, but rather components for other products? If so, I don't agree -- Apple's investment in, say, case tooling/manufacturing processes and equipment exclusive to their products is surely an investment directly tied to those products, right? The CPUs are likewise components exclusive to Apple products. That seems to me to be a pretty direct investment.
> but it's still an investment not directly tied to product (their core competency)
I don't even agree with this- Apple's core competency is the top-to-bottom customer experience, which they (almost certainly correctly) think they can improve by making their own silicon. But even if it was true, so what? Again, "investment not directly tied to product" doesn't make innovation "not count".
Heavily disagree, the only reason I would renew my mac in the next 6 month is because the ARM chip, and I will as soon as it comes out.
They pretty much had their hands tied. Intel failed to deliver for years now, and AMD never had a competitive offer on mobile and still does not.
That's more a sign that the company wants more profit by owning the top to bottom stack.
Perhaps they saw the existing chipsets as not delivering what they wanted or not scaling to fit demand, but it's still an investment not directly tied to product (their core competency).