Earlier this year, Apple unveiled the first batch of Macs that are not powered by Intel. The company had announced at its annual developers conference WWDC, that the company will be moving to using its own processors. In a new report by Bloomberg, it has been noted that Apple is planning to soon use its own modems in future iPhones.
At one of its internal town hall meetings, Apple confirmed that it has begun work on its own cellular modem. The company has been facing major issues with Qualcomm and has spent a good amount of time in court. Last year, both – Qualcomm and Apple – reached a settlement with a six year licensing deal. Apple ended up paying around $4.5 billion to Qualcomm.
Bloomberg covered the story of Apple’s Senior Vice President (SVP) of Hardware Technology Johny Srouji at Apple making a statement at the town hall meeting. Srouji reportedly said the following-
This year, we kicked off the development of our first internal cellular modem which will enable another key strategic transition… Long-term strategic investments like these are a critical part of enabling our products and making sure we have a rich pipeline of innovative technologies for our future.
Intel’s 5G Division To Rescue
Apple purchased Intel’s 5G smartphone modem division for around $1 billion. The Cupertino based company was not the first in introducing a 5G enabled smartphone but it could very well turn out to be the first company making its own 5G modems. The company introduced its first 5G smartphone lineup this year – iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and the iPhone 12 Pro Max.
It is unclear as to when Apple will be able to pack its own modems in the iPhone. Of course, the company will ditch Qualcomm – probably for good. After Bloomberg ran the story of Apple’s Srouji making a statement about its own modems – Qualcomm’s share fell.
