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For the past two production cycles, Apple tree has dual-sourced the modem within the iPhone from two companies: Intel and Qualcomm. The decision to do so followed an extensive period in which only ane company, Qualcomm, provided the silicon (Qualcomm paid Apple tree to only utilize its own modems from 2022 to 2022). Intel's modems have by and large lagged behind Qualcomm'due south as far every bit features, and Apple has actually disabled some capabilities other vendors utilize so as to guarantee feature parity.

With Qualcomm having merely been fined $1.2B for paying Apple to only use its chips, and Apple tangled in lawsuits with its supplier over licensing fees and royalty rates, information technology'due south not particularly surprising Cupertino might exist looking for an culling modem supplier. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who has a reputation for splendid Apple prognostication, has released a inquiry notation claiming that Apple may not use Qualcomm at all. Macrumors received a brief note Kuo released, stating:

Nosotros look Intel to be the exclusive supplier of baseband chip for 2H18 new iPhone models, while Qualcomm may not take a share of the orders at all.

Previously, Intel was expected to relish a 70 pct share of the modem market place, compared with just 30 percent for Qualcomm. Another reason Apple can entertain an all-Intel shift is that Apple tree's latest modem, the XMM 7560, finally supports both CDMA and GSM bands.

Intel-XMM

Qualcomm took an early leadership position in LTE when the technology hit and rode that wave since the standard started deployment. Elevated development costs and increased SoC integration reduced demand for standalone LTE modems, and companies that had previously brought 3G solutions to market place either didn't launch LTE products or didn't capture enough of the market to compete effectively against Qualcomm. Intel began its own efforts after ownership Infineon, merely the lack of an integrated modem hurt its own efforts to win marketplace share with Atom and contributed to its eventual withdrawal from that marketplace.

Dropping hints that it could replace Qualcomm in the iPhone could as well be a negotiating tactic. Samsung and the other Android manufacturers may dominate the market place in unit sales, but Apple has the panthera leo's share of the profits and the single greatest halo effect. That doesn't mean QC will automatically come to the table, especially if Apple'south preferred terms don't make economic sense for the visitor, but it does give Apple room to maneuver.

Qualcomm might opt not to come up to the table, for instance, if it thought information technology was far enough ahead of the contest on 5G to force Apple dorsum into negotiations in just a few brusque years, this time on its terms. Any temporary advantage Apple secures for itself could come back to haunt it if other companies take problem bringing 5G to market while Qualcomm speeds ahead. Intel has been involved in 5G evolution, only writing a standard is 1 matter and bringing a meridian-end competitive solution to market is another. Qualcomm might choose to walk away from a bargain and bet on chirapsia everyone else to the punch rather than take a black eye to stay inside the iPhone.