The main CPU for the iPhone is a PXA320, a descendant of the StrongARM processor developed by Digital Equipment Corp. under an architectural license from ARM in the 1990s. Warren East, president and CEO of ARM Holdings plc, has confirmed that "at least three" of the company"s processor cores are present within the iPhone from Apple Inc. When asked whether number is an underestimate, East replied: "Apple will talk about the contents of the iPhone when Apple"s ready to talk about the contents of the iPhone."
Based in Cambridge, England, ARM is a developer of processor and related intellectual property. They company has licensed most of the world"s integrated device manufacturers (IDMs) and foundries to manufacture its cores, which are often included in system-chips. ARM"s ambition is to have its intellectual property included in every digital chip manufactured. "ARM is in 90 percent of the world"s [mobile phone] handsets; we"re in WiFi, baseband processors and applications processors and most of the world"s MP3 players," East said.