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Apple looks to buy Intel’s smartphone modem business in Germany

According to The Information, Apple is considering buying Intel’s smartphone modem business in Germany. Such an acquisition would aid its attempts to build 5G iPhone chips.

When Apple announced the iPhone about a decade ago, Germany’s Infineon supplied the modems. About two years later, Apple switched to Qualcomm modems – and despite Intel buying Infineon in 2011, Apple didn’t use those chips again until much later, when the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were released in 2016. This was because of disagreements over Qualcomm’s licensing fees.

After Apple and Qualcomm managed to bury the hatchet and signed a long-term 5G chip agreement in April 2019, Intel exited the 5G smartphone modem industry. At the time, CEO Bob Swan admitted to the Wall Street Journal that this was because of the Apple/Qualcomm deal.

In an interview with CNET, Intel confirmed that there was “significant interest” in its 5G modem division, but it didn’t reveal the names of the companies involved. The company added: “We have hired outside advisers to help us assess strategic options for our wireless 5G phone business.”



The latest news comes after reports in May that Apple might not have an in-house 5G iPhone modem ready for up to six years. Chipsets are among the most expensive – and most complicated – smartphone parts. By making its own, Apple could make itself less reliant on external firms.

Even with the assistance of Qualcomm, Apple will most likely not be able to launch a 5G smartphone before next year – a serious problem at a time when Huawei, Samsung, OnePlus, LG, ZTE, Lenovo/Motorola, Oppo and Xiaomi either already have 5G smartphones or have announced them.

In the US, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint have so far launched 5G phones, which offer bigger capacity and faster speeds.

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About the author

Chris

I've been a passionate evangelist for Apple and the Macintosh throughout my working life, my first love was a Quadra 605 working with a small creative agency in the south of Norfolk UK in the mid 1990's, I later progressed to other roles in other Macintosh dominated industries, first as a Senior graphic designer at a small printing company and then a production manager at Guardian Media Group. As the publishing and printing sector wained I moved into Internet Marketing and in 2006 co-founded blurtit.com which grew to become one the top 200 visited sites in the US (according to Quantcast), at its peak receiving over 15 million visits per month. For the last ten years I have worked as an Affiliate and Consultant to many different business and start ups, my key skill set being online marketing, on page monetisation, landing page optimisation and traffic generation, if you would like to hire me or discuss your current project please reach out to me here.

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