Hopefully, Apple has purged all the B-players employees they took on from the Intel modem acquisition
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Apple Extends Deal With Qualcomm as Custom 5G Modem Delayed
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In Apple speak, Delay = Procedural Delay for Surprise.
Apple has the technology ready to go, they are waiting for the right economic moment to be able to cut Qualcomm off completely like they did with Intel.
M1 was ready with the 10.5" iPad Pro and A15X. They waited until the prototype was so mature it essentially had no first generational issues like typical new market entrants. That's why Intel got caught completely off guard and went into desperation mode. They thought the M1 was a first generation silicate, when in fact it was more than likely 4th or 5th gen, but Apple held back until the right moment to transition completely as fast as possible.
This is something Tim Cook is well known for, waiting cautiously until the right moment to enter the market.
This is why the Apple Car continuously has setbacks, as there is no right moment to move forward in a volatile market and also why the ScubaGearProMaxPlus launched later than expected as well. Well thought through, but the VisionProScubaEdition suffers from more than just new market entrant, such as market uncertainty as to size, scope, and even whether or not this market is viable mainstream or is just niche.
But the Modems are not niche, and are a core component, so Apple wants to transition quickly so as to avoid retaliatory pricing from Qualcomm from a drawn out transition. Hence, "Delay due to unforeseen issues."
Unforeseen Issues = Apple does not have Economies of Scale QA large enough to effectively cut Qualcomm off entirely in an 18-24 month window.
Apple has the technology ready to go, they are waiting for the right economic moment to be able to cut Qualcomm off completely like they did with Intel.
M1 was ready with the 10.5" iPad Pro and A15X. They waited until the prototype was so mature it essentially had no first generational issues like typical new market entrants. That's why Intel got caught completely off guard and went into desperation mode. They thought the M1 was a first generation silicate, when in fact it was more than likely 4th or 5th gen, but Apple held back until the right moment to transition completely as fast as possible.
This is something Tim Cook is well known for, waiting cautiously until the right moment to enter the market.
This is why the Apple Car continuously has setbacks, as there is no right moment to move forward in a volatile market and also why the ScubaGearProMaxPlus launched later than expected as well. Well thought through, but the VisionProScubaEdition suffers from more than just new market entrant, such as market uncertainty as to size, scope, and even whether or not this market is viable mainstream or is just niche.
But the Modems are not niche, and are a core component, so Apple wants to transition quickly so as to avoid retaliatory pricing from Qualcomm from a drawn out transition. Hence, "Delay due to unforeseen issues."
Unforeseen Issues = Apple does not have Economies of Scale QA large enough to effectively cut Qualcomm off entirely in an 18-24 month window.
Apple shouldn’t even try? With that attitude Apple shouldn’t try anything to disrupt any market. That would have meant no iPhone, no iPad, no Apple Silicon, and more.
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1) the engineers working on this particular item probably were not mostly WFH, even during the pandemic, since to test this stuff it needs to be in specific isolated locations.
2) stop blaming WFH for everything, it’s getting old. As you yourself said Intel had a culture problem, that likely came with this division when Apple bought it
So glad regulators are concerned about app stores and not, you know, monopolists like Qualcomm who definitely don’t extort insane fees from everyone with their monopoly.
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where Apple’s modem is better than Qualcomm’s.
People said Intel was incompetent when it failed at a modem, now Apple, with billions in the bank and trillions of worth on the stock market, can’t build its own 5G modem. Perhaps creating 5G silicon (and perhaps a Wi-Fi radio as well) is harder than it appears, especially in doing so in a manner that doesn’t infringe upon existing patents.
Because it is very likely to be the case that any modem produced by Apple will undergo intense scrutiny to see if it infringes, and if so, lawsuits will abound.
Because it is very likely to be the case that any modem produced by Apple will undergo intense scrutiny to see if it infringes, and if so, lawsuits will abound.
Or ports such as usb-c. Open ports for everyone, but modems can come from a monopoly or duopoly. But to be fair, it is insanely easier to open up an App Store or offer USB-c than it is to build a 5G modem.
I agree with you though that right now it is clear that Apple's modem is not better than Qualcomm's modem. Integrated, power management etc are their goal. I don't know if they'll succeed, but I wouldn't count them out.
Remember that there was similar thinking about phones - "It's hard to imagine a scenario where Apple's phone is better than <Nokia, Blackberry etc>". Ditto MP3 players. They may not be first (e.g. iPods), and they may not get it right immediately (e.g. plenty of problems like AirPower, Apple Maps, Ping, MobileMe, Pippin, butterfly keyboards, Apple ///, Lisa), but they do keep trying and they often eventually get it right (e.g. Newton eventually got us to iPhones/iPads etc although it was a bumpy road). Sometimes they fail, but if you try 20 times, and have 10 failures, 9 things that are just okay and can be bundled into Apple One (e.g., I bet eventually SOS after 1 year free), and 1 thing that is a big success, you come out way ahead.
Meanwhile Huawei just stopped putting orders to Qualcomm because they DO real R&D, What a shame for Apple, zero innovation in tech even a boycotted company innovated more!. We all are using pretty primitive hardware in our iPhones!
not surprising at all, in fact a good move. QCOM is still years ahead of Apple when it comes to 5G modems ...
Building a modem is difficult or even impossible because of patents that block new manufacturers.
Yes, but would you trust all your information to Huawei? I used to deal with Huawei years ago and got interested in their phones. Even though they knew me they would not let me have one.
Some employees there were actually using Blackberries at the time… What does that tell you?
So there is only one way of doing things? nearly every other product has patents and competitors
Except for the better tech and the loss of 200 billion to Apple’s worth due to the China government ban and optics.
Wasn’t the rumor already that the first iPhone to get a custom modem would be the SE in 2025? This would seem to be cutting it too close if they hadn’t extended the deal. And maybe it has something to do with 2027 being the 20th anniversary of the iPhone launch.
Wait until it becomes a spoiled teenager, then you will miss the old baby problems...
As much as I liked my iPhone 7 the modem in it was awful for the first month. It worked for awhile and then I would have no service messages in areas that had service.
I hope Apple continues to use Qualcomm.
I hope Apple continues to use Qualcomm.
Ok, Should I dig up all the comments about Apple can move mountains? Apple will have their own modern in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023......... 2024?
As if designing a Modem is easy? If Apple could design Apple Silicon, they could design a 5G Modem? How many times have I read this?
Now some of these comments are trying to blame Intel? Simply because Apple bought Intel's Modem team? And because it was Intel's team they couldn't make it work? Jesus, Do any of you actually have management experience.
As if designing a Modem is easy? If Apple could design Apple Silicon, they could design a 5G Modem? How many times have I read this?
Now some of these comments are trying to blame Intel? Simply because Apple bought Intel's Modem team? And because it was Intel's team they couldn't make it work? Jesus, Do any of you actually have management experience.
I wouldn't call them B-players.
Competing against Qualcomm in the digital communications/modem field was never a fair fight.