Apple Working With Intel on 5G Hardware for Future iPhones

[MacRumors]

Apple is "leaning heavily" towards choosing Intel's 5G modems for its future iPhones, according to Fast Company. Apple engineers are said to be already working with Intel on upcoming 5G technology.

Apple's discussions with Qualcomm about 5G modems, meanwhile, have been described as "limited."

Citing a source with knowledge of Apple's plans, Fast Company says that while Qualcomm 5G modems will offer more specialized carrier features, many of those features will not be adopted by carriers, leading Apple to believe Intel's hardware will be sufficient for future devices.

The end game, multiple sources have said, is to build the Intel modem onto an integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC) that would also contain the CPU, GPU, and other iPhone components. The SoC would be co-designed by Intel and Apple and would be fabricated at an Intel facility.

Intel reportedly has "multiple thousands" of people working on 5G technology in an effort to catch up with Qualcomm and win the contract from Apple.

Intel this morning said that it had made "substantial advances" in its wireless product roadmap to accelerate the adoption of 5G. According to Intel, an end-to-end 5G call based on early 5G silicon has been completed successfully, which Intel says is a "key milestone in its development."

Intel expects its first 5G chips to roll out in 2019, ahead of the wide rollout of 5G networks. T-Mobile just today said that it is planning to roll out its fifth-generation network across the United States by 2020, and most of the carriers in the United States are already experimenting with limited trials.

5G is expected to deliver speeds that are 10 to 100 times faster than the average 4G connection, at a gigabit per second or higher, along with lower latency and other benefits.

Rumors that Apple is considering Intel's 5G technology are in line with previous reports that have suggested Apple is considering eliminating Qualcomm chips from its 2018 iPhones and iPads.

Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle since the beginning of the year, which has continued to escalate over the months. Apple believes Qualcomm charges unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with," while Qualcomm claims its technology is "at the heart of every iPhone."

Apple and Apple suppliers have ceased paying royalties to Qualcomm amid the dispute, while Qualcomm has filed several patent infringement lawsuits against Apple and has asked for import/export bans in the United States and China.

Article Link: Apple Working With Intel on 5G Hardware for Future iPhones

 

[pantherfalcon2332]

first comment

Edit: being serious, has 4g finishing rolling cause I often lose my 4g signal while out and I want 4g firmly established before going all in on 5g. not saying apple can't start, just giving my 2 cents

 

[chriscrk]

Yas. Slay me mama.

 

[Xenc]

first comment

Edit: being serious, has 4g finishing rolling cause I often lose my 4g signal while out and I want 4g firmly established before going all in on 5g. not saying apple can't start, just giving my 2 cents

Use a better provider

 

[pantherfalcon2332]

Use a better provider

how much better can I get than Verizon

 

[Jeff R]

Don't even bother with CDMA. Stick with Intel, Apple. GSM all the way. Just my 2 cents.

 

[pantherfalcon2332]

tbh honest 4g is plenty fast so im curious to know what 5g would bring

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

This time, Timmy will make sure the FM reception is physically stripped out!

 

[JosephAW]

Translation = Slower LTE than competitors

 

[Ion-X]

Why doesn’t Apple put in the research to build a cellular chip in-house? Same with displays. They pay out billions of dollars to competitors (Qualcomm and Samsung) for very expensive components.

They already make the A11, M11, Secure Enclave, Face ID, and all of iOS, which are are an order of magnitude more complex than a modem.

 

[Paul A Jackson]

[QUOTE="Apple's discussions with Qualcomm about 5G modems, meanwhile, have been described as "limited."
...

Rumors that Apple is considering Intel's 5G technology are in line with​

previous reports​

that have suggested Apple is considering eliminating Qualcomm chips from its 2018 iPhones and iPads.​

Apple and Qualcomm have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle since the beginning of the year, which has continued to escalate over the months. Apple believes Qualcomm charges unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with," while Qualcomm claims its technology is "at the heart of every iPhone."

Apple and Apple suppliers have ceased paying royalties to Qualcomm amid the dispute, while Qualcomm has filed several patent infringement lawsuits against Apple and has asked for import/export bans in the United States and China."
[/QUOTE]

It generally isn't wise to engage in public legal disputes with a major customer.

 

[blackcrayon]

tbh honest 4g is plenty fast so im curious to know what 5g would bring

Right, do we get better reception? Penetration inside buildings? Power efficiency?

We're still a ways away from 1 Gbit to make a difference for most mobile applications.

 

[YegorH]

Another bad news for Qualcomm. I wonder if they really became greedy or being bullied by Apple and all other giants.

 

[flat five]

Oh thank god its 10 to 100 times faster!
I’m SO over waiting 3/4 of a second for a YouTube video to buffer & start on 4g.

/sarcasm

it will be nice for hotspotting i imagine.
especially if you're using cloud based syncing/data/applications..

i tether to my phone on occasion and there's a noticeable performance downgrade compared to when i'm using my wifi.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

AT&T is rolling out 5G in Minneapolis starting this month (in time for the Super Bowl). Sure would love to be able to make use of it.

 

[Cosmosent]

Meanwhile, back at the NO Spin Zone, the reality is, it will take Intel many years to catch up (to where Qualcomm is today) ! ... and Qualcomm isn't sitting still' they have their own Army of Engineers working on their stuff as well.

I see it as posturing by Apple, to (try to) cut a better deal with Qualcomm ... nothing more, nothing less.

Intel is just a Pawn in all this.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

tbh honest 4g is plenty fast so im curious to know what 5g would bring

5G is what will be needed as billions of IoT devices need to connect to the internet. With things like connected cars, a million different other connected items, and even more people on smartphones consuming ever increasing amounts of content, we need to make this move.

Some think this just means getting to watch a YouTube video quicker but that's a really uninformed understanding. It's about much much more than just getting you your content quicker (though that is a small part of it).

With the move to 5G, it'll become a real option to switch from having a cable modem with Comcast or other provider at home and just go totally wireless. Current 4G LTE isn't quite up to the speeds cable modems can offer but with 5G, we get much closer and it becomes a real option.

 

[Zaqfalcon]

Greater bandwidth to fill webpages with more data hungry advertising.

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Another bad news for Qualcomm. I wonder if they really became greedy or being bullied by Apple and all other giants.

Well considering they sue anyone that tries to go with anyone else but them... I'd venture to say they're pretty greedy. It's what's driving many manufacturers to explore other options.

 

[flat five]

Meanwhile, back at the NO Spin Zone, the reality is, it will take Intel many years to catch up (to where Qualcomm is today) ! ... and Qualcomm isn't sitting still' they have their own Army of Engineers working on their stuff as well.

I see it as posturing by Apple, to (try to) cut a better deal with Qualcomm ... nothing more, nothing less.

Intel is just a Pawn in all this.

what about Apple using Intel instead of Qualcomm for half the iPhone models since 7?
posturing still?

 

[nathan_393]

If they can get this up faster than they did support for LTE (which you could argue they were a year behind on), then I think that's a win for Apple.

 

[citysnaps]

Yay! Just in time for the repeal of net neutrality!

 

[npmacuser5]

how much better can I get than Verizon

I have Verizon, falling farther behind where I reside. Not the leader it once was. Others are moving faster with new technologies, coverages, and plans. I will be changing soon.

 

[GrumpyMom]

5G is what will be needed as billions of IoT devices need to connect to the internet. With things like connected cars, a million different other connected items, and even more people on smartphones consuming ever increasing amounts of content, we need to make this move.

Some think this just means getting to watch a YouTube video quicker but that's a really uninformed understanding. It's about much much more than just getting you your content quicker (though that is a small part of it).

With the move to 5G, it'll become a real option to switch from having a cable modem with Comcast or other provider at home and just go totally wireless. Current 4G LTE isn't quite up to the speeds cable modems can offer but with 5G, we get much closer and it becomes a real option.

I’d seen some people on this forum making remarks about 5G being a health hazard. Do you know anything about that? Or is that the generalized fear of cellular that’s been around for awhile?

 

[dannyyankou]

Oh thank god its 10 to 100 times faster!
I’m SO over waiting 3/4 of a second for a YouTube video to buffer & start on 4g.

/sarcasm

It’s not just about speed, it’s about capacity. When it comes to network congestion, it makes sense to have more bandwidth. Same reason people upgrade their internet speeds at home when they have more devices being used.