The Mac lineup has seen impressive improvements with Apple Silicon over the last couple of years when it comes to power, efficiency, and more. Now it looks like Microsoft is working to catch up with Apple by working on its own custom silicon and preparing Windows 12 to be optimized for the new ARM chips.
Reported by Windows Latest, details about Microsoft’s custom ARM chip plans surfaced with multiple new job listings including:
- Principal System on Chip (SoC) Silicon Architect
- Senior Physical Design Verification Engineer
- Principal Design Engineer
- Sr Silicon Power Integrity CAD Mgr
Many of the custom silicon jobs that the company classifies under the “Microsoft Silicon Team” were just posted at the end of April, with a few showing up a bit earlier than that. Here’s how Microsoft describes the responsibilities of the Principal SoC Silicon Architect:
You will be on the leading edge of computing, building lasting relationships with various cross-functional groups to deliver high-performance and innovative silicon System on Chip (SoC), using your extensive experience to develop hardware architectures and features.
The details show that Microsoft isn’t watching Apple from the wings and knows it needs to invest and move quickly with its custom ARM chips.
Windows Latest also highlights that with Windows 12 which should arrive in 2024, Microsoft may be aiming to optimize the major update for custom silicon.
Windows 12 is believed to be part of Microsoft’s Windows Core project, which focuses on creating a modular and customizable version of Windows for various form factors. The integration of in-house ARM chips could further optimize the hardware and software experiences offered by Windows 12.
And another aspect of Windows 12 that would benefit from in-house ARM chips would be the variety of AI features that it’s working on.
What do you think? Can Microsoft catch up with Apple when it comes to custom silicon? Or is Apple too far ahead already? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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