[kmeisthax]

A decade and change prior we could have said the same thing about doing in-house chip design instead of just buying off-the-shelf Samsung parts. Or designing their own GPU technology instead of just licensing PowerVR cores. Apple did not have those skills internally and there was no guarantee that those projects would pan out.

If there is one thing Apple is actually "good at", it's hiring people who are good at things they don't specialize in, and using those people to build out their own capabilities. So if Tim Cook decided that they need in-house fabs, they would use their massive cash reserves to hire and buy whoever and whatever they need to set up in-house fabs.