Apple To Buy Intel’s 5G Modem Business For US$ 1 Billion
American technology giants Apple and Qualcomm dropped all pending lawsuits against each other and signed a six-year licensing agreement back in the month of April this year. As a repercussion of the decision, chipmaking giant Intel, who was the chief supplier of smartphone modem for the Apple iPhone for the last few years; announced that it is quitting any development on 5G modems. Now, the latest reports reveal that Apple is in advanced talks in buying the dormant 5G modem division from Intel for a hefty sum of US$ 1 Billion.
About the deal
As mentioned above, due to the settlement between Apple and Qualcomm, Intel announced that it is quitting the 5G modem business. The reason cited of the decision by the latter was that Apple is its most important client and without it, the company does not see a path forward. With the chipmaker moving out of the modem business, Apple could really benefit with the company’s resources and expertise. Intel was also the sole supplier of network modems for the iPhones launched in the year 2018, which include the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR.
Also read: Huawei’s First 5G Smartphone Will Soon Be Commercially Available
It has been rumoured time and again that iPhones with support for 5G connectivity may arrive as soon as next year. And Apple is looking forward to using its own 5G modems inside the devices. However, for the near future, the company may have to use third-party modems, like the Qualcomm Snapdragon X50/X55 ones; as it may take years for it to develop a viable and sustainable modem business for its handsets. It is speculated that when the deal with Qualcomm ends in the year 2025; Apple will be ready with its own smartphone modems for use in future iPhones.
