2018 Apple iPhones To Drop Qualcomm Chips for Intel
Apple is about to launch its new line of iPhones for 2018 at its September event. The leaks and rumours about the smartphone suggest there will be a relatively cheaper iPhone along with the usual flagship this year. Apple iPhones going forward may not use Qualcomm wireless chipsets in favour of Intel modems.
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There is a state of turmoil between Apple and Qualcomm. The chipset manufacturing company wanted to charge Apple a percentage of the company’s revenue for using Qualcomm’s modems. This led to the company suing Qualcomm for a hefty amount. In the US, Qualcomm might have to pay $1 million. Now, according to the Chief Financial Officer of Qualcomm, the new 2018 iPhones will not be using the company’s modems. Instead, the smartphones may launch with an Intel modem. There are still a few months before the 2018 iPhones will launch so this news should not affect the launch whatsoever. However, it is worth noting that iPhones have been using Qualcomm modems for a long time. For Apple to switch over to Intel for its wireless chipset is natural since Qualcomm and Intel are the two of the biggest chipset manufacturing companies.
How Will This Affect The New Apple iPhones?
iPhone X
As mentioned previously, the decision to go with an Intel modem may not affect the iPhones all that much. However, it will be interesting to see how the Intel LTE modems perform as compared to ones by Qualcomm.
In 2017 the Apple filed the first lawsuit against Qualcomm and the two have been exchanging lawsuits since. The 2018 iPhones will remain unaffected by the company’s decision to not use Qualcomm chipsets. However, Intel announced that it will not be able to produce 5G ready modems by 2019 so it will be interesting to see what Apple decides to do in 2019.
