Locator: 49060APPLE.
Wiki. Has not updated N1 yet.
Thread for developers on Apple. Link here.
Lots of "stuff" here to unwind, but the bottom line for me, Apple:
- slow, methodical; one chip at a time; one partner at a time;
- continues to embed the iPhone into one's daily life; and,
- is laser-focused on privacy and cost.
And continues to explore AV/AR. Right now Meta seems to have the lead and yet Meta's AV/AR seems to be a "toy" compared to Apple's vision. No pun intended.
APPLE SILICON
ChatGPT prompt:
Apple presentation regarding Apple Silicon: were there any other chips introduced other than the N1, C1MX, A19, A19Pro?
ChatGPT reply:
You’re absolutely on the mark—and it’s a great
question. Beyond the A19 and A19 Pro (the main iPhone SoCs), the Apple
presentation—especially for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air—also
introduced two significant new in-house chips.
New chips introduced:
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N1 – a brand-new wireless networking chip built by Apple.
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Replaces components previously sourced from Broadcom.
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Provides Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread support.
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Enhances connectivity performance and reliability—including improvements to AirDrop and Personal Hotspot.
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C1X – a next-generation 5G cellular modem designed by Apple.
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Promises up to 2× faster speeds than its predecessor, the C1.
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Offers notably improved energy efficiency (up to 30% less energy use).
ChatGPT prompt:
- These new chips: impact on Wi-Fi 7 and Thread enable?
ChatGPT reply:
Impact of thread (via N1):
Wi-Fi 7 is the first real generational leap since Wi-Fi 6, and Apple is positioning the N1 as the enabler:
-
Speed – up to ~5× faster than Wi-Fi 6 under ideal conditions (think multiple gigabits per second).
→ Big for iCloud backups, AR/VR streaming, and Apple Vision Pro integration.
-
Lower Latency – crucial for FaceTime, gaming, or collaborative apps.
→ Makes the iPhone behave more like a wired connection when on strong Wi-Fi.
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Multi-Link Operation – Wi-Fi 7 can use multiple bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 6 GHz) simultaneously.
→ iPhones can hold a rock-solid connection even in congested networks (airports, conferences).
Impact of Thread (via N1)
Thread is a low-power mesh networking protocol for smart-home devices (part of the Matter standard).
-
Direct Smart Home Control – Your iPhone becomes a Thread border router, meaning it can directly control smart bulbs, locks, thermostats without relying on a HomePod or Apple TV.
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Energy Efficiency – Thread devices sip power. This makes iPhones better at acting as the roaming “brain” in a Matter-enabled home.
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Resilience – Unlike Wi-Fi or Bluetooth alone, Thread creates a self-healing mesh. So if one node goes down, others still communicate.
Why this matters in Apple's world:
-
Short Term: Faster Wi-Fi for backups, sharing, and Apple Vision Pro tethering.
-
Medium Term: Your iPhone becomes the universal remote and hub for Matter smart homes.
-
Long Term:
Apple is building an ecosystem where every device (watch, phone, Vision
Pro, smart home) talks seamlessly without third-party silicon.
👉 So the N1 isn’t just about performance — it’s Apple bringing connectivity in-house, the same way Apple Silicon CPUs freed them from Intel.
ChatGPT prompt: what does Apple gain by ditching Broadcom for this N1 chip (beyond just features?)
ChatGPT reply:
Control over the stack:
-
With Broadcom, Apple was tied to a third-party roadmap.
-
Now Apple can synchronize networking with its A-series chips, modems, and NPUs, tailoring power management, antenna tuning, and latency for its own use cases (AirDrop, Vision Pro streaming, HomeKit/Thread).
-
It’s the same playbook Apple used when it ditched Intel for Apple Silicon — vertical integration means performance and efficiency optimizations that competitors can’t easily match.
Cost and supply chain independence:
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Apple was spending billions annually on Broadcom components.
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By designing N1 in-house, Apple reduces reliance on an external vendor, gains pricing leverage, and de-risks supply chain constraints.
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Over time, this lowers per-unit costs and keeps Apple’s enormous gross margins intact.
Ecosystem lock-in:
-
N1 isn’t just a Wi-Fi chip — it’s a gateway to Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth 6 + Thread.
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Apple can tune these protocols to just work better in Apple-to-Apple scenarios (AirDrop faster between iPhones, smoother Vision Pro tethering, better AirPlay).
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That strengthens the “only Apple talks to Apple this well” moat.
Freedom to innovate beyond standards:
-
Broadcom has to design chips that serve all customers (Samsung, Google, routers, etc.).
-
Apple can add proprietary features on top of Wi-Fi/Thread
standards (for instance, prioritizing Vision Pro streams, or enabling
peer-to-peer gaming/AR modes).
-
This lets Apple differentiate at the connectivity layer, which was impossible when they were tied to Broadcom’s generic roadmap.
Strategic leverage against partners:
-
Broadcom still supplies other components (e.g., RF chips).
By showing it can replace Broadcom in a key domain, Apple strengthens
its hand in negotiations.
-
Just like it did with Intel, Imagination (GPU IP), and Qualcomm (modems), Apple signals: “If you overcharge us or slow us down, we’ll build it ourselves.”
Platform for the future (IoT + AR/VR:
-
Thread support means Apple can quietly make the iPhone the default hub for the Matter smart-home ecosystem, displacing Amazon and Google.
-
Ultra-fast Wi-Fi 7 + custom optimizations mean better AR/VR performance when pairing iPhones with Vision Pro or future glasses.
Bottom line:
- Ditching Broadcom gives Apple strategic autonomy, higher margins, ecosystem lock-in, and a new platform for smart homes and AR/VR — all in one move. The technical features are just the visible surface; the real win is long-term control.
ChatGPT prompt:
Apple: what is Thread / Part of the Matter Standard?
ChatGPT reply:
Great question — this is one of those things Apple talks about in a single line during a keynote, but it’s quietly very important.
What is Thread?
-
Thread is a low-power, wireless networking protocol designed for smart-home devices.
-
Think of it as an alternative to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but optimized for small, battery-powered devices like sensors, locks, lightbulbs, and thermostats.
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Key features:
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Mesh networking → devices connect to each other, not just a central hub. If one device goes offline, the network self-heals.
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Low latency → faster than Bluetooth for things like turning lights on.
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Energy efficient → devices can run for years on a coin-cell battery.
Thread + Matter?
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Matter is a new industry standard for smart-home interoperability, backed by Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, and others.
-
Goal: all smart-home devices should “just work” together, no matter the brand.
-
Thread is one of the main transport layers for Matter (alongside Wi-Fi).
So:
Why Apple cares:
-
Apple has built Thread into HomePod mini, Apple TV 4K, and now iPhones (via N1 chip).
-
That means your iPhone can become a Thread border router, connecting low-power Matter devices directly without needing extra hubs.
-
Long-term vision: an Apple ecosystem where your iPhone,
Watch, and HomePod seamlessly manage your smart home without third-party
dependency.
In short:
-
Thread = the networking tech.
-
Matter = the standard that makes devices interoperable.
-
Apple’s N1 chip = makes your iPhone a key player in both.
Bottom line:Apple's N1 chip will make it possible for your iPhone to recognize / activate:
- a smart lock from Google, a thermostat from Amazon, and a lamp from Ikea, and will control it all from an iPhone?
Right now that can be done through proprietary apps but it's becoming a pain to manage all those apps on the Apple iPhone screen.
The ChatGPT thread continues ... but enough for now.
I'm really, really excited what this all means for Sophia -- age eleven. LOL.
