Intel Reportedly in Exclusive Talks With Unnamed Buyer Over 8,500 Wireless Patents

[barkomatic]

Here’s my result on an iPhone XS Max with the supposedly “crappy” Intel modem. Done on a moving SkyTrain while going to work the other day.

So I don’t buy the complaints it’s a bad modem or somehow slow. On paper the Qualcomm modems are better, but that doesn’t mean Intel modems are garbage. Nobody would ever notice the difference in real-world usage and any issues they’re having are more likely an issue with the network, congestion, the service they’re connecting to or their physical location and not because of modem differences.


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It's more in areas of weak signal that you may notice an issue. At one point I had an iPhone with a Qualcomm modem and one with an Intel modem in the rural area where relatives live. The Qualcomm reported 2 to 3 bars and the Intel none on the same network. This was also the case in several other transitional areas I had been to. That's anecdotal of course, but just peruse the threads on the subject here. Intel modems aren't "garbage" but they simply aren't as good as Qualcomm modems--though Apple has the resources to fix that if they get these patents.

If you are in a large city or an area blanketed with coverage you probably won't notice a difference at all. However, it's usually when you are in remote locations that it's more important you are connected.

 

[Edsel]

I bet it's Huawei.

Some of those patents have got to be pretty old technology.

 

[WRChris]

Here’s my result on an iPhone XS Max with the supposedly “crappy” Intel modem. Done on a moving SkyTrain while going to work the other day.

So I don’t buy the complaints it’s a bad modem or somehow slow. On paper the Qualcomm modems are better, but that doesn’t mean Intel modems are garbage. Nobody would ever notice the difference in real-world usage and any issues they’re having are more likely an issue with the network, congestion, the service they’re connecting to or their physical location and not because of modem differences.


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You aren’t comparing it to anything so those results don’t mean much. I get stronger and faster signal with my iPhone 6 Plus then I do with my XS max. Try a phone with a Qualcomm chip at the same time and then you will see the issue.

Driving around my local area I get at the very least 1 bar more on my old device. There are some places I get 3 bars on my 6 plus and my Xs max gets 0.

 

[kaycrystal626]

I hope it's Huawei.

 

[name99]

Intel's modems are renowned for being top notch aren't they? A great buy.

This is a purchase of PATENTs, not products.
Same reason Apple will hire employees, but not buy the division. Hiring employees you get to start from scratch; buying a division you inherit the pathologies of the division, the management structures, rivalries, ways of doing things.
It’s not an issue of “Apple is too cheap to buy the full division”, it’s that the full division AS A DIVISION is worthless, it’s more valuable broken into pieces and individuals than as an organized unit...

 

[Packers1958]

Probably some large investment company that bought them, so they can sue company after company for patent infringement.

 

[Kabeyun]

Wouldn’t surprise me if it were Apple. I’ll bet Intel would love to help Apple take on QC.

 

[Teammm]

The family got em.

 

[alent1234]

Not really. There are several threads on here that consistently report poorer reception on Intel modems. Though that's not to say Apple wouldn't benefit tremendously from the patents.

I have an XS Max and family member has Galaxy S9 and we're on the same carrier and same account. Last time i saw him he couldn't get a signal in my home while I was OK.

I had all kinds of issues with AT&T I thought were intel modem, but it was just crappy AT&T service. T-Mobile my XS Max works just fine on one bar.

 

[MoreRumors?]

If Intel couldn't come through for Apple in making 5G modems for this year iPhone and Intel bailing out of modems for mobile, how much of a value or worth to purchase this? Just out of curiosity.

 

[truthertech]

That's what I was thinking as well. No way the FTC would allow this to go through given what you have stated and their recent legal battles.

Sales of patents where there is no product would be analyzed very differently than merger of companies. Also, people mistakenly assume that there is something wrong/illegal with having monopoly position when that is the very essence of a a patent, i.e., to recognize your exclusive ownership of that idea, design, process, etc.