Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would they have not used them before the acquisition?
One of the recent phones (X or 11?) used Intel for part of its builds (as far as I remember you couldn’t tell from serial number). Apple had a lot of problems and swore off the Intel parts, which killed Intel’s wireless business. I assumed Apple bought the Intel product line for IP, especially after that episode.
overall, I was very happy to get a phone that didn't use the intel chips.