Qualcomm says it will have chips to take on Apple silicon in nine months

Qualcomm says that it is going to release new chips next year that can keep up with M-series Apple chips like M1 Pro and M1 Max, and the M1 featured in devices like the MacBook Air with M1 and 13-inch MacBook Pro with M1.

Chief Technology Officer Dr. James Thompson spoke at Qualcomm's 2021 investor event, where he revealed the plan:

Qualcomm supplies Apple with some hardware, providing modems for devices like the iPhone 13 and its other best iPhones.

Thompson said Qualcomm would release new "arm-compatible" SoC's designed by Nuvia, which it bought for $1.4 billion in 2021. The company boasts former Apple engineers who worked on Apple silicon, and in July Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon said he thought Qualcomm could have the best chip on the market by next year. According to Thompson today, the new chips will be unveiled in about nine months, and be ready for devices in 2023.

It is expected by then that Apple will be on to the second generation of its own Apple silicon, with a new 'M2' chip expected next year that delivers even more improvements on the power-to-performance ratio that the M1 gave when it was unveiled in 2020. Apple announced the juiced-up M1 Pro and M1 Max in the new MacBook Pro (2021) last month.