Apple could choose Intel over Qualcomm for future iPhone modems

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Intel chip
Apple is weighing up its options for future iPhone modems.
Photo: Intel

Qualcomm will be providing 100 percent of the modem chips for Apple’s iPhone 6s, but Apple may ditch it in favor of Intel for future handsets, claims a new report.

Qualcomm is said to have teamed-up with TSMC to build the modem chips for the iPhone 6s, using TSMC’s 20nm process.

For later iPhones, however, Apple is reportedly weighing up other modem chip suppliers for future models — with Intel being a possible leader. Interestingly, the report claims that these would be for Apple’s “2017 iPhone models” which could either refer to the iPhone 7 or 7s, depending on your perspective.

Given that Apple is nowhere near starting doling out contracts for the iPhone 7 — let alone the 7s — I’d assume that, if true, this report refers to next year’s batch of iPhones.

Intel being named as a possible replacement for Qualcomm is no surprise. Back in March this year, VentureBeat claimed that the iPhone 6s could use the Intel XMM 7360 LTE modem, while last week Northland Capital Markets’ Gus Richard suggested that Intel had won up to 50 percent of orders for the iPhone 6s modem.

Neither of those turned out to be the case, but today’s news suggests that there may have been some foundation to the rumors.

Source: Digitimes

Via: GforGames

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