Interview with Bob Borchers: What the iPhone 16 Munich thought

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From the outside, Karlstrasse 77 in Munich is a rather inconspicuous, bright, multi-story office building. No one would suspect that inside Apple is honing its “superpowers” that are contained in the M4, the H2, the S10 or the A18 – it is not even written that Apple has its European center for chip design here. But Apple does not normally expect visitors from outside – one exception was when we met Bob Borchers, Apple's Vice President for Worldwide Product Marketing, for a chat on Monday.

Borchers has been actively involved with the iPhone from the very beginning as part of the team, with some interruptions. Some people still remember a guided tour for the iPhone 3G, in which the American led people through the new functions of the second iPhone generation. He can be found on the Internet under the nickname “iPhone Bob”.

Superpowers from Munich

This Friday, what Borchers calls the chip's “superpowers”, which are largely sourced from Germany and Munich, will once again play a major role, as the new iPhones of the 16 generation contain two improved SoCs, the A18 and the A18 Pro. “Munich is a central part of our Apple Silicon development network,” says Borchers. 2,000 engineers from more than 40 countries are currently working here, although Apple only began building larger teams there in 2015. In recent years, commitments have been made to invest over two billion euros in research and development work in Munich.

With regard to the iPhone, Apple Watch, Macs and other Apple bestsellers, important parts of the products are contributed in Munich. This includes power management, which is of great importance for energy efficiency – a point that Apple has recently been promoting more and more clearly with its own silicon. In Munich, work is also being done on the design of system-on-a-chip (SoC), and chips are being tested and verified (Silicon Engineering Productization Team). The work of the mobile communications technology team is likely to be of great importance for the future, the results of which could make Apple more independent of suppliers in the future.

What happens after 3 nanometers?

Given the significant progress made in Apple's processors in recent years, outside observers are wondering how much longer this pace can continue. Apple now has the second generation of the three-nanometer design in its devices – but what will happen next for Apple when, for example, miniaturization reaches physical limits? As expected, Borchers avoids giving a concrete answer and does not mention any concrete plans. He says: “It's not just about chasing a single metric or a single quality value, but rather about doing things that offer our customers real added value.” As an example, he cites the use of new process nodes that make it possible to pack more and more transistors into smaller packages. This leads to higher performance. “I think the development of these chips will continue, and quickly, and will use all available technological advances. There are many opportunities and scope there.”

Apple thinks holistically anyway, and not just in terms of individual components, he stresses. “In this process of bringing together countless ideas, but we work very, very hard to select only the best of them so that we can deliver a complete package that our customers find fully thought out and does what they expect,” he says, referring to the principle attributed to Apple that 1,000 no's are required every year in the creation process. He could not estimate whether the number has remained at 1,000 no's, given the greater variety of possibilities offered by technology today, or whether there are already far more, he replies with a laugh: “I haven't counted, so I don't know the exact number, but I think the principle remains the same.

RAM, camera and displays

Specifically with regard to the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16s, questions revolve around the RAM, the camera and the size of the displays on the Pro devices.

• Regarding the increase in memory in the iPhone 16 generation to 8 GB RAM, which Apple's hardware technology chief Johny Srouji recently confirmed in an interview, Borchers says that given that the development of generative language models is still in its early stages, it is difficult to say whether a further increase will not be necessary in the future. “We think we have a number of performance features that will be great today, but also in the future.” The overall system performance counts. “The memory is one part of that, but then there is also the memory bandwidth. Then there is the processor and the processor capabilities. And then there is the performance, which also plays a role.”

• When increasing the displays of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max to 6.3 and 6.9 inches respectively, they carefully considered that the additional screen no longer allows for usability. “You could imagine a scenario where you just keep making them bigger and bigger and bigger, but at some point no one can realistically use them or hold them in one hand. For us, the big breakthrough here was that we were able to reduce the bezels, to the thinnest bezels of any Apple product ever, while at the same time keeping the case size very, very close to the prescribed generations. It was really this perfect combination where we didn't change the size that people love about the iPhone in their hand, but we were able to give them more display area, which I think is always a benefit. We're always looking for ways to optimize that combination.

• And then of course there is the desire of some users for a more magnified telephoto camera. We ask whether Apple is aware that this desire exists. “We are of course aware that there are many people who want to take the camera experience to a new level in different places,” Borchers replies. “But our goal is to do this in a way that maintains quality and the features that we think are so important in a camera. It's not just a race to a spec, it has to be delivered in a way that matches the quality you would expect from an iPhone Pro or Pro Max. That's the bar we will never let ourselves be moved from.

Creators as an important target group

The chances that Apple will think of ways to fulfill other camera and sound needs are at least not bad. Creators are unmistakably the focus of the current Pro devices. “Creatives are part of our DNA and part of our customer group that is really important to us,” says Borchers. “When we can expand the camera functions or the audio functions, now with the studio-quality microphones and the ability to mix audio afterwards, or the camera styles or camera controls, we are always amazed at what they do with them. That inspired us to offer more options so that we can unleash their potential.

In the end, the question remains whether Apple feels its billion-dollar commitment to the EU, to Munich, and to the thousands of jobs in Europe are sufficiently appreciated. The public's reaction to the back tax payment that Apple has to make in Ireland at the instigation of the EU Commission, or to the regulation by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), is mixed. At least some commentators fear that US tech companies could be deterred. Borchers was only diplomatic in his comments on this: “We have been in Germany for many years and in Europe for many years. We feel a commitment to the region, not only in terms of customers, but also as a place where we can develop amazing technologies and skills.” They refer to the local expert community and involve them. Munich stands for cutting-edge research, Karlstrasse 77 and the other locations are a success story. “Hopefully we can continue to tell such stories in the future.”

(MKi)