Apple Inc. is hiring new employees from the semiconductor industry and is building the capability to design its own chips, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The iPhone and iPod maker hopes its efforts will lead to new features for its devices and enable it to share fewer details about its plans with outside chip vendors, the report said, citing people familiar with Apple's plans.

An Apple spokesman confirmed the company has hired both Bob Drebin, former chief technology officer of the graphics products group at chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, and Raja Koduri, who previously held the same position.

The spokesman declined to comment further. Drebin's LinkedIn page lists him as a senior director at Apple.

The hires were reported or rumoured in a number of online outlets earlier in the week.

Apple has been hiring engineers to create multifunction chips that are used in cell phones, the Journal report said. Sources familiar with Apple's plans don't expect internally designed chips to emerge until next year at the earliest, it said.

Last year, Apple acquired P.A. Semi, a designer of low-power microchips, in a move analysts said bolstered its ability to customise key parts for its iPhone, iPod and Macintosh product lines.