Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Good to see Apple giving business to a company known for its ENGINEERING, not a company that's basically a giant legal department.
 
  • Like
Reactions: t1meless1nf1n1t
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.

This is what concerns me. Why strip out features because you think carriers aren't going to use them. It's like how they throttle the Qualcomm modem now and don't have 4x4 MIMO and stuff. T-mo has those technologies, let me use them.
 
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.
Nope. 5G is vastly more complex.

Firstly it requires RF black magic, testing, working with telcos, testing, compliance to wireless standards, testing, chip design, more testing.

Their other innovations were closed-loop and they didn't need to spend years getting through red-tape as well as years of internal testing. It's a massive undertaking but I'm sure Apple are speculating what the next tech after 5G will be.

I'm sure they'll bring it in-house one day. Probably when they have it neatly packaged up in their SOC and can therefore just buy the IP or division from Intel.

Edit. IOS is software and in a different realm. It has been worked on for over 10 years in a never ending development.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: haruhiko
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?
I would also like more information.

I agree 4g is fast, but can be improved upon. I can not be the only one who remembers everybody getting up in arms about the original iPhone not having 3g? We are all getting old...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5105973 and AlexH
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.

Apple have obviously considered this option. They wisely decided not to do it.

Clearly you don't know how complex a modem is.
 
I just hope they aren't making compromises on the phones because of this legal spat...
 
Can someone who actually works in EE explain if having “multiple thousands” of people working on a problem like this makes the work go faster?

Edit: removed redundant and grammatically clumsy second “actually”.
 
Last edited:
“Thousands of people” working on this? When we designed high end microprocessors we typically had 50-100 for a fresh design.
[doublepost=1510887372][/doublepost]
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.

I’m sure they are. They also need to resolve the IP issues with Qualcomm.
 
  • Like
Reactions: riverfreak
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.

I expect patents are a major stumbling block. Apple would have to "clean room" reverse-engineer the technology and that could take many years. And then when they are done, they'll still be sued left and right by Qualcomm and Intel for patent infringement to make sure they did really create their own technology and that will then embroil them in even more years of legal tangles.

Far easier to just pay the people who already have the technology developed.
 
Can someone who actually works in EE explain if having “multiple thousands” of people working on a problem like this actually makes the work go faster?

No. I can’t even imagine what so many people would even be doing.
[doublepost=1510887577][/doublepost]
I just hope they aren't making compromises on the phones because of this legal spat...

People who chose their phones based on minor peak wireless bandwidth are not apple’s kind of customers.
[doublepost=1510887710][/doublepost]
This is what concerns me. Why strip out features because you think carriers aren't going to use them. It's like how they throttle the Qualcomm modem now and don't have 4x4 MIMO and stuff. T-mo has those technologies, let me use them.

If they can save 10 percent power and dedicate a few extra mm to battery and all they have to give up is some feature that is only used by a carrier in Belarus, I say go for it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: riverfreak
how much better can I get than Verizon ;)

Better question is how much faster are you getting with Verizon for the amount you pay, Half a second, 1/4 of a second? I'll enjoy my $35 a month with 5 GB after all taxes and fees thank you ... my extended family has four lines and pays nearly $400 for Verizon and they complain about it all the time, hope you're happy though
 
“Thousands of people” working on this? When we designed high end microprocessors we typically had 50-100 for a fresh design.
[doublepost=1510887372][/doublepost]

I’m sure they are. They also need to resolve the IP issues with Qualcomm.

Yeah. Not my area of expertise but I simply couldn’t imagine how “multiple 1000s” of people would be required or even effective at addressing something like this. Unless there are a lot of specialized people checking wafers and then shuttling them to and fro so the eggheads can stay chained in their cubes. ;)

After a certain point, more people tend to just slow things down.
 
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

Why does it matter? It will still be able to run on 4g networks either way.
 
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

Downloading a Youtube video 100 times faster means your phone spends 1/100th the time with its modem and associated amplifiers, etc powered on, saving you significant battery life. It also frees up the cellular channel 100 times faster, meaning you're less likely to be queued or speed-constrained in the first place.
 
  • Like
Reactions: riverfreak
I don't even use LTE as is enough, but 5G looks good. Now all we need are mobile carriers who support it.
 
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.

I don't think Apple has the patents to actually build a cellular modem chip. I would think it would cost more that way.
 
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.
Agreed, more capacity is good. But is that what "5G" systems are there to accomplish? Sounds to me it's more about the wireless transmission speed. Sure the hardline backbone will have to be increased to accommodate the increase in speed, but if it's just increased in equal proportion, it's not really going to help solve the bandwidth bottlenecks.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.