Should Apple Acquire AMD?

File this one under crazy conspiracy theories/genius business ideas of the day: Should Apple purchase chipmaker AMD? Gundeep Hora offers a speculative piece with some interesting ideas in it...

The big idea is that in its new relationship with Intel, Intel holds all the power: Apple is a relatively small customer compared to, say, HP and Dell, and it surely does not get preferential pricing (one reason you pay so much for a Mac). AMD chips would provide similar performance, at least in desktops, but by owning the company Apple would have complete control over CPU features while also having its own graphics company (AMD now owns ATI). The upshot is that Apple could completely control almost every aspect of its production, which Steve Jobs really loves.

AMD, of course, would benefit immensely by joining the Apple fold. AMD has never been and never will be a household name to the degree Intel is. Even when it was producing the best CPUs on the market, a stretch that lasted about 18 months a few years back, the average consumer didn't know squat about AMD. Rebranding them as Apple CPUs could be big, especially for Apple loyalists who are still unhappy about the move to PC-friendly Intel chips.

There are indeed problems with this idea, of course: Apple doesn't know anything about microprocessor design, and the acquisition would be expensive. In the end, it might not be any better off, especially if it decided not to sell AMD chips to other manufacturers, a typical Apple move. There's also the nagging issue that AMD chips are poor performers on laptops: I regularly recommend Intel over AMD for anyone buying a notebook. Given the love that MacBooks get, you might have a hard time convincing people to switch.

It may be a way out there conjecture, but still, it's a fun idea to ponder.

LINK: Why Apple Should Acquire AMD