Speaking to investors today, Qualcomm’s CFO said that there has been lower demand for its chips from Apple, and that the 2018 iPhone lineup will likely not use any Qualcomm modem chips at all. CNBC reported on the company’s earning call, where CFO George Davis said, “We believe Apple intends to solely use our competitors’ modems rather than our modems in its next iPhone release” although he noted that the company will still be continuing to provide modem chips for Apple’s older devices.
Qualcomm’s president, Cristiano Amon, also stated that the company doesn’t expect to be part of Apple’s next product launch. While Qualcomm executives naturally didn’t name their competitor, it seems most likely that they are referring to Intel, whose chips Apple has already been using in at least some iPhone models since splitting orders between the two companies back in 2016.
Qualcomm’s prediction comes as little surprise, with reports last fall that Apple was looking more closely at Intel to be its sole supplier, followed by another report earlier this year by KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that Intel’s chips had been brought up to Apple’s technical requirements at a more competitive price point, which would potentially leave Qualcomm out of the loop even if it weren’t for the ongoing legal battle between the two companies. [via 9to5Mac]
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