Apple simply can't create any kind of x86 chip whatsoever (at least if they plan to use it :) ) - they don't have an ISA license and likely won't ever be able buy one, because Intel doesn't sell.
Well, apart from outright buying AMD. Or Intel. Or both. :)
So you basically say it's not hard to design a processor (even x86), just patents prohibit it? I had always thought that at least some part of the Intel/AMD dominance was the complexity of the designs and manufacturing that even a company like Apple couldn't build within a decade.
Apple simply can't create any kind of x86 chip whatsoever (at least if they plan to use it :) ) - they don't have an ISA license and likely won't ever be able buy one, because Intel doesn't sell.
Well, apart from outright buying AMD. Or Intel. Or both. :)