Apple Supposedly Using X86 On iPad As A Compromise To Get Intel To Make iPhone SoC's

Fortune:

Acknowledging that there’s been speculation about this in the past, Freedman moves the ball forward by spelling out the terms of a possible deal:

Intel (INTC) would agree to use Apple’s preferred architecture for the iPhone – the one from Intel’s British rival, ARM Holdings (ARMH).

In return, Apple (AAPL) would agree to switch to Intel’s x86 architecture for the iPad.

If Apple was to switch to x86, which I doubt, it would be a unilateral sweeping change — on both iPad and iPhone. The whole point is that iOS is streamlined and straightforward. The fact that they run on the same architecture is a win in so many ways; the consumer experience, the developer ecosystem, the production economies of scale …

Apple has no incentive to diversify the chip architecture of it’s two flagship products, that thrive on being well integrated and interoperable.