Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported late last week that some versions of Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7 will use Intel’s modem chips.
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The report indicates that iPhones sold on the Verizon network and in China will continue to use Qualcomm modems-it’s unclear what this means for carrier-unlocked iPhones in the U.S., which can be used on any major mobile network without issues-but even so, this is still a big deal for Intel.
IPhones on Verizon Communications’ network will remain with with parts from Qualcomm. iPhones sold in China will also work on Qualcomm chips, the sources added. As per a report from Bloomberg, some versions of Apple’s next flagship will stock an Intel wireless chip instead of Qualcomm. Since then Qualcomm has become Apple’s only supplier of wireless chips. This deal wold benefit Intel, who have been trying to make their mark in the smartphone industry for some time now but we will have to wait and see how this affects the sales of the Apple iPhone 7.
The decision to tap Intel as another supplier of modem chips could be for diversification on the end of Apple.
Keep in mind, however, that this is still in the rumor stage and nothing will be confirmed until the iPhone 7 goes live in September, so take everything with a pinch of salt in the meantime. The major win for Intel was signaled by Qualcomm CEO Steven M. Mollenkopf in an April earnings call when he said the company was assuming that a large customer may begin “second-sourcing”.
The news is big for Intel, which now has under 1 percent share of the smartphone baseband market.
Bloomberg noted that Walt Piecyk, an analyst at BTIG LLC stated that “AT&T will sell an estimated 22 million iPhones this year and 23 million in 2017”.
In the report, however, it is believed that variants of the new iPhone 7 that will be based on carriers such as AT&T as well as those sold in some regions across the globe will be based on Intel chipsets.
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Sourcing chips from different places can lead to discrepancies in performance, though.
