Apple’s 64-bit A7 chip found inside the iPhone 5s, but also the 2013 family of iPads, is the feature that surprised the competition, setting off “panic in the industry,” according to an unnamed Qualcomm employee interviewed by Dan Lyons. “The 64-bit Apple chip hit us in the gut. Not just us but everyone, really,” the employee said. “We were slack-jawed, and stunned, and unprepared. It’s not that big a performance difference right now, since most current software won’t benefit. But in ‘Spinal Tap’ terms it’s like, 32 more, and now everyone wants it.” Publicly, a Qualcomm exec has initially deemed the A7 processor as a “marketing gimmick,” downplaying its importance at the time. But Anand Chandrasekher, who was the company’s