Apple expects Intel to supply 100% of the 5G modem chips for next year’s iPhone devices. As for this year 2018, Cupertino will use 70% Intel chips and 30% of Qualcomm, the other major player in the industry.
Intel will supply 100% of 5G modems to Apple by 2019
Apple’s relationship with Qualcomm has become increasingly controversial over the past two years, amidst a legal dispute over the patent license fees paid to Qualcomm for supplying Cupertino. With all this controversy, the iPhone manufacturer seems ready to completely eliminate Qualcomm’s modems from its handsets.
Intel expected to provide even more than 70% of the modems in the new iPhones this fall, but 2018 is the first year that Intel will manufacture its own modem chips using its 14 nanometer process. Given that technology transition, Apple is apparently waiting to see how well Intel meets this year’s demand, and if Intel doesn’t deliver enough, Qualcomm will make up for it with more than the 30% contribution it already plans to provide.
There is also the possibility that Intel can produce enough chips on time and get more than 70% of the planned quota. This looks complicated, as the performance rates of the modem chip are not what Intel expects, as just over half of the chips produced are functional.
Intel engineers are confident they can eliminate errors and increase throughput rates before production speeds up in June and July. For Intel, the modem business for Apple is very valuable because the volumes are very high.