Apple tightens control over graphic chip design

San Francisco

APPLE Inc's decision to stop licensing graphics chips from Imagination Technologies Group plc is the clearest example yet of the iPhone maker's determination to take greater control of the core technologies in its products - both to guard its hefty margins and to position it for future innovations, especially in so-called augmented reality.

The strategy, analysts said, has already reduced Apple's dependence on critical outside suppliers such as ARM Holdings plc, now owned by SoftBank Group Corp. Apple once relied heavily on ARM to design the main processor for the iPhone, but it now licenses only the basic ARM architecture and designs most of the chip itself.