John Sculley Tells Origins of Newton, ARM and Apple's Mobile Dominance
Recently, at an SFTA event held at Citrix HQ, former Apple CEO John Sculley talked about the origins of the Newton and the ARM processor, which was a joint venture between Apple, Acorn Computers and VLSI. The ARM6 was used as the processor for the first Newton MessagePad, as Apple needed a more power efficient CPU for its portable. To give you an idea of how important the ARM project was — the iPhone you’re holding still uses a derivative of the ARM core designed for the Newton. The Newton — an internal Apple project headed up by Larry Kessler and Steve Capps — was a handheld PDA-like device who’s claim to fame became its silly handwriting recognition, but, as Sculley explains, the handwriting aspects of Newton were never meant to be a primary feature.
