According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple is reportedly hiring "hundreds of new engineers and supply-chain managers" across Asia in an attempt to "speed up product development and launch a wider range of devices."

People "familiar with the matter" say that Apple is poaching staff from HTC, and other tech companies across China and Taiwan to build up their teams in Shanghai and Taipei. They want to develop products faster and provide more frequent product launches. Are they taking a page from Samsung's playbook?

By shortening the product cycle, Apple will have to shift to make it possible from their current business model. Hiring large teams of engineers that can work directly with suppliers could help streamline that shift.

More iPhone types? More iPads? iPhone Grand? iPhone Mega? Could we get things like that? [Wall Street Journal]