This piece on Apple and ARM in The Information is really interesting. Apple negotiated an agreement with ARM that is based on per-chip fees, rather than per-core.
This has proved immensely beneficial for Apple, which pays less than anyone else in the industry for ARM chips.
It hints that Apple is already looking at RISC-V as a backstop in case they can’t keep their deal.
Free gift link: https://www.theinformation.com/articles/how-a-lopsided-apple-deal-got-under-arms-skin?rc=so2aop&shared=06bfdfb1b57c7667