I completely agree and am surprised you got downvotes. I have an iPhone 11 and experience the connectivity issues all the time.
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Apple Extends Deal With Qualcomm as Custom 5G Modem Delayed
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I wouldn't be surprised that Apple ends the project due to the Qualcomm patents on 3GPP NR 5G technology. That's why Apple will continue to use Qualcomm and Broadcom chips on their iPhones and modem-equipped iPad models.
I'll just say this.
People were claiming that Qualcomm was going to be kicked out when Apple bought the remnants on the Intel Modem group.
I said they weren't going to be putting out anything in the next few years. People were saying I was nuts and that Apple would make the dates of 2023.
Well here we are and I was right. A modem is a lot more complex that people thought, especially when you are trying to avoid Qualcomm existing patents.
I am going to say, "I told you so".
People were claiming that Qualcomm was going to be kicked out when Apple bought the remnants on the Intel Modem group.
I said they weren't going to be putting out anything in the next few years. People were saying I was nuts and that Apple would make the dates of 2023.
Well here we are and I was right. A modem is a lot more complex that people thought, especially when you are trying to avoid Qualcomm existing patents.
I am going to say, "I told you so".
My guess is Apple could make a modem yesterday. But the patent lawyers keep telling them that their designs infringe.
As do the solutions.
As do the solutions to those solutions.
Lather rinse repeat.
As do the solutions.
As do the solutions to those solutions.
Lather rinse repeat.
mmWave got oversold. America marketing oversells just about everything though.
The main point where I think it went way off the rails is where Verizon was spinning it as their home internet solution. The cellular home internet folks are trying to compete with Cable ( and some Fiber) and there huge desire to say that wouldn't have to give up any speed to go wireless. ( and also skip the last 'less than a mile' physical hook ups to each individual dwelling. ( maybe run fiber down some poles on the street and 'beam' the fast internet from poles to home. ) )
Wireless home Internet isn't making major deep cuts in the wired Internet business. (T-mobile recently bragged about adding 500K home internet user. Over a very large area and into the large users base of wired , that is just incremental change. ). Some traction, but the wired vendors are competing better than some folks wished. ( and faster phones are clogging up bandwidth so deployment gaps on growth in several places. And running more wires on poles/utilities is just generally painful for folks not already on the pole. )
There are more places that people congregate in larger numbers than just Stadiums. That is just the easier reference point that either people have either directly experienced or at least have seen in some direct experience through video/TV/etc. But coming to average John Doe's neighborhood like cable does.... no.
It is a country of scams and monopolies so unfortunately that’s just par for the course.
Is Verizon really advertising mm wave for home? That’s insane. I’ve seen plenty of 5G home services, but I don’t recall seeing them call out mm wave for it. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually watched commercials so idk what the current state of things are.
Sales pitches everywhere aren't really sessions about the ultimate truth. There are legal limits but generally people know they are being pitched.
2021
" ... “Our continued investment in 5G Ultra Wideband means that more people than ever can experience unmatched speed on phones and a home broadband alternative that is transforming the market,” said Verizon CTO Kyle Malady in a statement. “We will continue our aggressive push into even more places.” ...
...
Gamers who want to use it for console gaming on the go will get a better experience as well.
...
...
Typical download speeds are 300 Mbps and typical upload speeds are 50 Mbps, with maximum download speeds up to 1 Gbps.
While these download speeds are great using mmWave spectrum, Verizon gets a lot of its 5G coverage claims though the use of dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS), which uses lower band spectrum. The DSS markets produce speeds more akin to 4G, so there’s not a lot more bang for the buck there. Therefore, Verizon is setting its sights on the 3.7 mid-band spectrum acquired through the C-band auction.
... "
Alot of this is hoping people read the headlines and initial couple of 'sizzle' paragraphs of a story and just move on with a sweeping generalization of what they just read/skimmed.
Mention 'Ultrawide band' and 'Home Internet' several times in the same story and folks will couple those together in their mind. It is leveraging cognitive flaws that most folks commonly lapse into if not being deliberately careful. Same stuff going on when get 'sizzle' headlines here on Macrumors. Can predict what kinds of post responses are going to show up with folks just throwing visceral reaction to the 'bait'.
P.S. realtively recent ( 7/23 ) press release from Verizon
Verizon develops new point to multi point use case for mmWave spectrum
Verizon has completed a proof of concept showcasing a new multi-unit internet solution which could expand the addressable homes and businesses that can be served with its mmWave spectrum holdings.
Yea, I’m getting a little tired of the lack of precision from MR’s reporting. Saying Apple uses ARM’s chip designs (instead of the reality of adhering to the ISA) is a particular pet peeve of mine.
For the record, I’m an observer of advertising and PR out of curiosity. The book PR! is a great history of how these intentional tactics came to be out of propaganda efforts…because the same people (Edward Barnays in particular) took their war experiences and applied it to the corporate world.
With that kind of understanding, it’s really funny/infuriating to read “news” these days.
By the way, I just recalled that my European iPhone 8 has an Intel modem. And quite frankly, audio calls are clear, I have good coverage even on the countryside, and data transmission over LTE is decent, although the phone gets pretty warm when using 4G.
I remember there were problems regarding Intel modems, but I don’t recall which were the issues… maybe lower performance/efficiency compared to Qualcomm’s?
I remember there were problems regarding Intel modems, but I don’t recall which were the issues… maybe lower performance/efficiency compared to Qualcomm’s?
At this rate they will have a 5G chip ready when 6G arrives 😅
Seriously though I’m glad my 16 won’t have the first gen Apple modem.
Seriously though I’m glad my 16 won’t have the first gen Apple modem.
Probably mentioned already, but this could still mean Apple will use their own modems at their predicted timeframe, but only in some models (Pro &/or world markets), leaving the rest to still use Qualcomms.
Doesn’t sound like it. It sounds like they are rolling out their technology gradually like they generally do with new stuff. The next year is focused on Vision Pro, so their engineers will mostly be focused there.
Maybe ... this is what people said last time when in 2019-2020 Qualcomm said there could only have 10-30% ( I forge exact percentage, but much less than half) of the 5G modem placements in 2023. And yet it will be 100% in 2023.
Yes Qualcomm is saying they expect to drop off gradually.
" ... Qualcomm says that it expects to only supply 20% of the modems needed for Apple’s 2026 smartphone launch, signaling that it likely still expects the Apple business to eventually decline. A Qualcomm official said the company was not updating its guidance to take in account the Apple sales. ..."
Qualcomm says it will supply Apple with 5G modems for iPhones through 2026
Wall Street analysts and Qualcomm officials had previously said they expected Apple to use an internally developed 5G modem starting in 2024.
But Apple is negotiating with them, not giving them blow-by-blow details of the internal modem work progress. Right now, Apple doesn't even know concretely know many phones they'll be selling in 2026 (with any kind of modem). And Qualcomm has 1-2 years to work extremely hard to crank that 20% higher by producing something that is harder to turn down.
I am not sure there were many predicting 2025 back in 2019-2020.
But also the way this is phrased this is smartphone placement in the new launch. Of what launch if there is a SE , plain iPhone , iPads , and iPhone Pro models going in same year. The September 2026 launch is being coupled to the September 2023 launch due to the timing ( and being singular ).
Apple is finding out modems aren't like making a CPU. There is a reason Intel was trash (and they still paid all of that money for engineers that clearly couldn't get it done).
Lol rolling it out gradually? This same story has been going on for years now. First, it's "Apple's modem coming next year." Then a little while later they go back and it's another 3+ years. You don't have to defend apple. They are in over their heads with this one and the intel engineers are clearly unable to catch up to Qualcomm.
That is largely depends upon what Apple asked those engineers to do. If Apple told them to throw everything out and it was OK to spend huge blocks of time trying to gyrate around having to pay Qualcomm's and others royalties, then they could have been told to run down a rabbit hole.
The more optimal way to construct a very complicated system to to take something that works and add some complexity to it. If someone comes in and says "throw it all out the window, we are starting over from a 'green field'" , then it is just going to take longer. That says little about the talent of the people doing the work. It is now more work.
There is also a danger in making the modem too far integrated or highly customized. May not make sense to couple the modem to the bleeding edge fab process that only works best for CPU/GPU logic cores ( and not for I/O or SRAM). They can try to chop the "compute" part of the modem off and just move it but now have split the subsystem in a new way.
Infineon's modem group had hiccups before Intel ever bought them. ( Intel was trying to by Tower Semiconductor because bleeding edge fab processes are not necessarily all of the tools for some subsystems. )
The first thing Apple needs to do is sack everybody they brought over from Intel and start again with a brand new team
Apple has extended its agreement to obtain modems from Qualcomm for three more years, in what appears to be a sign that work on the company's own custom 5G modem is taking longer than previously expected, Bloomberg reports.
Apple is Qualcomm's biggest client, accounting for almost a quarter of the supplier's revenue. In a statement, Qualcomm said that the deal with Apple covers "smartphone launches in 2024, 2025 and 2026." The agreement was originally set to expire this year and the iPhone 15 lineup was once rumored to be the last to rely on Qualcomm modems.
The extension of the deal indicates that Apple's work on its own custom 5G modem is taking considerably longer than expected. Apple has reportedly been working on its own modem since 2018 and it acquired the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019. The time frame for launching the modem has slipped from 2023 to 2024 or 2025, but Bloomberg now believes it has an even "longer runway" before it will be ready.
While the new agreement extends to 2026, Apple could still begin rolling out its own modem in new devices before then. Earlier this month, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the modem will launch in 2025. Apple's apparent plan to gradually transition to its custom modem technology is indicated by the fact that Qualcomm expects to still have a 20 percent share of iPhone shipments when the 2026 iPhone launches, suggesting that Apple will continue using Qualcomm modems in a minority of iPhones at this time.
Apple purportedly wants its custom 5G modem to mirror its work on Apple silicon, touting considerable battery life and performance benefits. Thus far, the company's work on the component has apparently been mired by battery life issues and bureaucratic challenges, such as certifying the modem with connectivity authorities.
Article Link: Apple Extends Deal With Qualcomm as Custom 5G Modem Delayed
WFH is a big problem, there are only a certain typeof employee, that will work well in that environment, they are a small minority.
The Intel culture, you're right about
I work on a team that’s distributed across multiple timezones and almost entirely wfh, and I work with teams that are distributed globally. If I went in to my employer’s local office none of my coworkers would be there. Hell, my boss is a couple thousand miles away. At this point the office is mostly for folks that truly have to come in, either to work on physical gear or to work on highly classified things that live in SCIFs.
I’d also have to be there 12-14 hours/day at least many days to take all my meetings with folks ahead and behind me time-wise, without the ability to take breaks like I can at home
What benefit would there be to me going into an office? What problem is wfh causing? I’m more productive and happier at home
I think a lot of folks havent actually experienced being on a well integrated distributed team. I spend half my day on calls, both working sessions/pairing and meetings. I talk to my coworkers and my boss constantly, the team is very cohesive.
This isnt rare in the tech industry, and hasnt been since long before COV19. In my career personally my jobs that required being in the office full or even part time have been the minority.
So I’ll ask, as someone with a great deal of WFH experience, including pre-COV19, what do you think is the “big problem” with WFH?
This is the tantalizing part for me. Qualcomm makes a chip that’s designed to work with a variety of end user use cases. If every modem only had to work with a specific antenna in a specific configuration?
Intel couldn’t do anything small performant and efficient. If cell modems could run on 300W without complaint, they’d likely have solved that a long time ago.
Apple approached them about being an iPod CPU first!
If what is written in the linked article regarding legal issues is correct then it exposes Apple to appalling business practices. This would be a case of Apple knowing there are a couple of patents they need to use that would make their own modems good if not better than their competitors. The problem is the patents they want to use are owned by a competing company (Apple bought Intel's modem business therefore is now a competitor) but rather than admit that the competing company have a right to the patents and thus pay a license fee to use the patents, Apple instead took the competing company to court to try and get the patents in question voided so Apple could use them for free in their modem.This was back from last year, and likely holds the key to the delays:
Apple 5G chip problem in iPhone 15 is likely legal, not technical
See the update at the bottom of the piece. The iPhone 15 was expected to be the first lineup to...9to5mac.com
Granted this is how things work in the business world. It still does not make it right though.
I couldn't comment on your productivity levels, because I'm not privy to them, only your boss's know how productive you are.
However I'm sure like most home workers you're happier working from home.
I don't disagree it makes sense in certain scenarios and with a certain type of person.
For instance, my cousin works from home, he's so disciplined & conscientious it's scary, he's actually more productive then he was working from the office and often does extra hours with the travelling time he saves, his wife (by her own admission) is not as disciplined and is easily distracted and she is no where near as productive, as she was in an office environment, I'm the same.
WFH has too many distractions for most and disciplined & truly conscientious people like my cousin are not the norm.