iPhone Rumors 2018: Intel to Become Exclusive iPhone Supplier, Qualcomm to Be Pushed Aside

By Ela Teodosio, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Reports say Apple is totally ditching Qualcomm this year to make Intel its exclusive modem provider.

In a curious turn of events, rumors say that Apple is turning to Intel to exclusively supply LTE modems for its iPhones from 2018 onward.

The rumors are based on a research note obtained by MacRumors and 9to5Mac. "We expect Intel to be the exclusive supplier of baseband chip for 2H18 new iPhone models, while Qualcomm may not have a share of the orders at all," wrote KGI analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

This is opposed to Kuo's previous report that Intel will be providing only 70 percent of iPhone modems, with the remaining 30 percent still coming from Qualcomm.

Apple is able to make the switch because of the capabilities of Intel's latest XMM 7560 modem, which now supports both GSM and CDMA. With this LTE modem, Apple can release one iPhone that could work across AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

The previous limitation of Intel modems, which lacked CDMA, prohibited the tech giant from ditching Qualcomm altogether.

Kuo, however, doubts whether Intel would be able to maintain this exclusivity for a long time. After all, Apple is known for having a diverse supply chain.

This report is the latest in the growing tension between Apple and Qualcomm over a major lawsuit on anticompetitive licensing practices.

Apple believes Qualcomm used the former's patented technology to create the Snapdragon processors, particularly Snapdragon 800 and Snapdragon 820, which have been powering phones since 2016. According to Apple, Qualcomm is infringing eight battery life patents.

Snapdragon is Qualcomm's flagship line, and is capable of drawing as little battery as necessary, so that mobile phones could have increased battery life without requiring bigger batteries.

Qualcomm, however, was first to strike against Apple. In July 2017, Qualcomm moved to ban iPhones in the U.S. after Apple allegedly violated six patents that also have something to do with battery life.