Qualcomm published a short note today announcing that the company has signed an agreement with Apple to provide the Cupertino company with 5G modem-RF chips for their smartphones and other products that will be launched in the three-year period 2024, 2025 and 2026.
The note issued by Qualcomm is unusually brief and is a clear sign of the cold but “necessary” relationship with Apple. Already at the beginning of this year Apple’s orientation became clear: after having abandoned Intel, the company led by Tim Cook is determined to replace modems, WiFi and Bluetooth from Qualcomm and Broadcom. As early as 2025, according to what has emerged in recent days, Apple could present its first 5G modem chip.
Apple keeps Qualcomm good but “behind the scenes” continues the development of its 5G modem
A company like Qualcomm therefore seems to want to make the best of a bad situation: Apple is not yet ready to present itself on the market with its connectivity solutions therefore it needs to rely on its historical partners. In the next three years, therefore, modems Qualcomm Snapdragon they will remain a fundamental part of the lineup of Apple mobile products.
In the meantime, however, Apple engineers have been working and will continue to work on the development of a 5G modem with the apple logo. It will largely be based on technology acquired from Intel in 2019.
With its own modem, Apple would no longer need to rely on Qualcomm for a critical component in modern computers iPhone and in other smartphones. Result? The company could significantly reduce costs and eliminate the amount of royalty paid to various entities.
Upon closer inspection, the agreement with Qualcomm it is not exclusive. Apple, however, has decided to shelter itself for the next few years to buy chips in case it needs them. In short, this does not mean that Apple cannot get ahead of the game and “run alone” without relying on partners for all or part of the components that make up the iPhone and its other technological products.
In any case, the project of development of the Apple modem it is an internal project about which the company wants to maintain maximum secrecy. It is therefore likely that the mouths will remain sealed for quite some time, at least until the company is able to distribute the modem in large volumes.