No. Intel gets to keep developing and holding onto IP for non-smartphone related modems. This includes laptops, connected appliances, PC desktops (think Intel chipsets from board partners), vehicles, etc.
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Apple Acquiring the Majority of Intel's Smartphone Modem Business
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Christ. More of these damn half a—— Intel modems. They’re just awful compared to Qualcomm. Oh well.
nepalisherpa said: Not sure if this is a good move or a bad move. I hope Apple makes the modems better than Intel could.
I don't understand all the technology that goes into my car's engine either, but when my car has difficulty going uphill then I know something sucks!
I don't understand all the technology that goes into my car's engine either, but when my car has difficulty going uphill then I know something sucks!
They “reaped” the second-biggest music streaming service and one of the biggest headphone brands, not to mention expertise in audio engineering and industry contacts.
Maybe you're confused and thought Qualcomm made the purchase?
Qualcomm has good proof Intel had stolen its designs, now Apple has those designs.. ergo it has stolen designs from Qualcomm:
http://9to5mac.com/2018/09/25/qualcomm-apple-stole-source-code/
I live in Europe and I know my XR with Intel modem performs worst, it is NOT my carrier, and I know others have had the same issues as they post stating that on this forum, your defending Apple and Intel for something that’s widespread and proven on tests, the Intel modems drop signals more then Qualcomm modems.
I wonder if the agreement is chip dependent. Like, maybe if they throw in A series chip into a MacBook they could get away with it.
That’s very intel-igent idea by Apple.
As rumored, Apple today announced that it has signed an agreement with Intel that will see Apple purchasing the majority of Intel's smartphone business.
Approximately 2,200 Intel employees will be joining Apple, and Apple will also take over Intel's related intellectual property, equipment, and leases, in a transaction that's valued at $1 billion. At $1 billion, this is Apple's second largest known acquisition after Beats.
Combined with Apple's existing wireless technology patents, the Intel acquisition will give Apple more than 17,000 wireless technology patents in total, ranging from "protocols for cellular standards to modem architecture and operation." Apple says that Intel will continue to develop modems for non-smartphone applications, such as PCs, internet-of-things devices, and autonomous vehicles.
Apple's VP of Hardware Technologies Johny Srouji said that Apple is excited to gain new engineers with expertise in modem development, with the Intel team set to join Apple's cellular technologies group.The acquisition, says Srouji, will allow Apple to expedite its development on future products, which likely includes the Apple-designed modem chip that's in the works. To reduce its reliance on Qualcomm and other modem chip suppliers, Apple has been working on developing its own modem chip. That technology won't be ready for another few years, but the acquisition of Intel's modem chip business could allow Apple to significantly speed up its modem chip development.
Intel CEO Bob Swan said that selling Intel's smartphone modem chip business to Apple will allow Intel to putting its 5G efforts into other areas. Rumors earlier this week suggested Apple was in advanced talks with Intel and that a deal could be announced in the near future. Apple and Intel have been having discussions about an Apple acquisition of its smartphone modem business since last year.
The talks paused temporarily when Qualcomm and Apple settled their legal differences and reached a new supply agreement, but resumed not too long afterwards. Intel announced back in April that it was planning to exit the 5G smartphone business, sharing the new shortly after the new Qualcomm/Apple deal was announced.
Apple was planning to use Intel's 5G chips in its 2020 iPhones because of its legal battle with Qualcomm, but rumors suggested Intel wasn't able to meet design deadlines, souring the relationship between the two companies. Apple mended ties with Qualcomm and will now use Qualcomm's 5G chips in its 2020 iPhones.
Apple has established a deal with Qualcomm for chips for future devices as well, and will likely rely on Qualcomm until its own modem chips are ready to be deployed.
Apple says that it expects the purchase of Intel's smartphone modem chip business to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.
Article Link: Apple Acquiring the Majority of Intel's Smartphone Modem Business
No idea. I wonder if it'll be published with a filing? The issue is that Intel wasted a lot of time and money under Krzanich, but Intel's problems began not long after Core came out in 2006 when they began to shift focus on side projects that weren't their core services, like enterprise and consumer products that were their core products. The issue isn't that they were late, it's that the CEO in the early 2000s laid the ground work for the future of the company when it came to mobile use, but the guy who came after him froze that and dicked around. That guy struck a deal with Apple for Core processors. Also the same guy who later realized how much of a dumbass he was for underestimating how fast the mobile market grew because Apple paved the way. By the time Intel did begin to gain focus on mobile, it was late. Companies had already established themselves in R&D and contracts. The theory is that Intel would have been a close Apple partner for their iPhones for a considerable amount of time, and because of holding the patents, there may have been native x86-64 running alongside Intel's then ARM processors. Krzanich replaced Otellini and made changes to further the company, but everything was late by then, and Krzanich wasn't wise when it came to direction, other than banging a board-director. Dumped money into fruitless projects. Intel's other divisions have made some grave errors over-estimating their own ability.
They're a rich company. They'll survive. AMD just released Zen 2 which are powerhouse processors when it comes to multi-threaded applications. But in true AMD form, they've flubbed the launch like every other product launch they've done. It'll take months to fix.
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I can hear your kids groan at this joke.
Interesting (albeit not surprising) move by Apple.
In the short run nothing changes. Apple knew Intel couldn’t deliver the goods on 5G and was underperforming on 4G modems. So it had to settle with Qualcomm and pay up to use their modems over the next couple of years.
In the long run, both the patents and the knowledge grab (Intel engineers) could be a coup. Apple can increase the speed of their in house modem development (they started this effort couple of years ago) and may deliver faster/better product (5G modem) or integrate such circuitry in their SOC. Matching or beating qualcomm SOCs.
TL;DR Apple is not replacing Qualcomm modems with Intel modems in iPhone 11 or MacBooks. In the future, Apple plan to get rid of Qualcomm and have its own modems.
In the short run nothing changes. Apple knew Intel couldn’t deliver the goods on 5G and was underperforming on 4G modems. So it had to settle with Qualcomm and pay up to use their modems over the next couple of years.
In the long run, both the patents and the knowledge grab (Intel engineers) could be a coup. Apple can increase the speed of their in house modem development (they started this effort couple of years ago) and may deliver faster/better product (5G modem) or integrate such circuitry in their SOC. Matching or beating qualcomm SOCs.
TL;DR Apple is not replacing Qualcomm modems with Intel modems in iPhone 11 or MacBooks. In the future, Apple plan to get rid of Qualcomm and have its own modems.
Qualcomm has made an accusation that Apple denies. Curious why you believe a statement from one company and not the other. Especially when none of this has actually been proven in court.
I'll do you one better! It has 256GB !
It's about to get handed to a friend who has an iPhone 6 though. Otherwise I'd have been all over it. Even with the decrease in screen size.
Omg! I can’t believe I made that typo. Dang it, I would love to get an XS Max! The iPhone X is pretty cool though, even mine with a pathetic 256MB.
You’re example has nothing to do with my point. There are about a dozen posters on here who think they are experts at everything...who love to give the pro Apple spin....no matter the subject......when in reality they are just trolls....I’d name names but we all know who they are.
Yes.
This allows time to develop 5G.
I had indicated before that Apple didn't currently have the people.for modem development and others in this forum told me I was wrong.
Nope. They wouldn't have spent a billion and acquired 2200 employees if I was wrong.
Apple didn't have the expertise to develop their own modem.
They hired a guy from Intel that had been at Qualcomm. At Intel he was hired to head the modem team. Now they have acquired the modem team at Intel he ran.
As long as they can streamline it, they will be successful. They have 4-6 years to get it done before they need to renegotiate with Qualcomm.
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They still need to license technology from Qualcomm. It is not possible to build 4G, LTE, 5G or WiFi without paying Qualcomm some amount of money.
RE: "At $1 billion, this is Apple's second largest known acquisition after Beats."
I predict Apple will make ten acquisitions over the next 18 months, ALL larger than $1B USD !
Specifically, ALL in the $1B-$15B USD or so range, & ALL will naturally be Technology companies.
They have NO choice !
They got behind the eight ball !
Too much Pride/Arrogance in FaceID was/is one of the major culprits.
Now they need to make up for it by acquiring third-party Innovation & integrating that.
BTW, I'm a Cal Poly SLO EE grad, who has worked @ Qualcomm here in San Diego ... IMO, Apple ONLY has a 50/50 chance of being successful with their cellular modem efforts ... it's NON-trivial !
I predict Apple will make ten acquisitions over the next 18 months, ALL larger than $1B USD !
Specifically, ALL in the $1B-$15B USD or so range, & ALL will naturally be Technology companies.
They have NO choice !
They got behind the eight ball !
Too much Pride/Arrogance in FaceID was/is one of the major culprits.
Now they need to make up for it by acquiring third-party Innovation & integrating that.
BTW, I'm a Cal Poly SLO EE grad, who has worked @ Qualcomm here in San Diego ... IMO, Apple ONLY has a 50/50 chance of being successful with their cellular modem efforts ... it's NON-trivial !
Apple was really Intel's only customer.
It makes sense for Apple to move forward and not reinvent the wheel.
Good investment. Will probably take a few years to see the results, but it's going to pay off big time. Apple wants to stick it to Qualcom and they will probably 5 years down the road however.
I'm holding out for the iPhone XVII anyway.
I'm holding out for the iPhone XVII anyway.