Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I wouldn't get comfortable if I were Mollenkopf. Apple has learned a lesson from this. They're not going to rely on third parties who own a virtual monopoly on a major part — certainly not on one as hostile as Qualcomm. Apple isn't going to stop developing their own modem. They'll order from Qualcomm for as long as they need them but then kick them to the curb. Qualcomm better think of diversifying because their modem won't be needed for that much longer.

Six years and a two year option.
That would mean, even if they are developing a 5G modem on their own, they are a long way off.
[doublepost=1555525104][/doublepost]
For 2 years, until Apple’s own chips are ready.

Six year agreement.
They are further off than two years.
 
I wouldn't get comfortable if I were Mollenkopf. Apple has learned a lesson from this. They're not going to rely on third parties who own a virtual monopoly on a major part — certainly not on one as hostile as Qualcomm. Apple isn't going to stop developing their own modem. They'll order from Qualcomm for as long as they need them but then kick them to the curb. Qualcomm better think of diversifying because their modem won't be needed for that much longer.
Qualcomm will always be needed, they own the house aka patents and all. I don't know why people like you keep failing to realize that. Nobody on the planet except maybe Huawei is free from QC's clutches.
Edit: Not to mention the time and money it'll take for Apple to design it's own modem (they'll need someone with experience to actually build it) they're at least 7+ years out from a product and by that time QC's will be so much better I doubt it'll be able to compete.
The last line is just my opinion but I doubt their going to pop up with the superior product
 
Six years and a two year option.
That would mean, even if they are developing a 5G modem on their own, they are a long way off.
[doublepost=1555525104][/doublepost]

Six year agreement.
They are further off than two years.
Nope. They need a license from qualcomm to do their own chips (FRAND patents). That’s in the agreement.
 
Well played Apple! Intel doesn't know how to make modem after all, as soon as they learned about the deal they announced of closing the modem business. Intel here would probably felt like Motorola ROKR. :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wide opeN
It’s a win win win
Win for Apple to power their product
Win for Qualcomm in essentially guaranteed revue
Win for the consumer. Intel was later to the game and wasn’t able to provide the bit for bit quality and performance.

New this whole court would not turn out good and had a keen inkling something would change - especially that Intel would not keep up with demand; didn't know they bowed out. Intel will severely regret this. They're competing with Broadcom for chips (WiFi+WAAN+Bluetooth) in Windows and Linux laptops and servers. This is going to be a huge missed opportunity that will cost them billions in less than 3yrs! Mark my words on this.

Let's hope this finally leads to 5G/LTE modems within Macs going into the future!
 
Poor Apple! Still can't find a way to get rid of Q.
For 2020. (Maybe 2019 but unlikely. Maybe 2021.)
For 2022 and later, I would expect the modem to be Apple. So rid of the Q soon enough.

Note that the deal that was announced for 6(+2 option) years is for PATENT licensing, not any sort of sales guarantee...

The sales agreement is only "multiyear" which could mean as little as "we'll buy QC chips for the 2020 iPhones, and we'll keep buying them for those models for a few few years as those phones age out"...
 
This deal pretty much solidifies the fact that apple will have its own  designed modem six years from now. After this debacle, it's not like the two companies are buddy buddy again, more like a cease fire. If anyone thinks that Apple isn't now going to double down on in-house modem design to some day break free from QC, think again.
I hope ur right, I hope this will put some fire in apple management and double their efforts,
 
Intel no longer has to direct resources at trying to develop a 5G wireless chip that can achieve Apple's "high standards"

Intel can now focus those resources at developing better PC processors to avoid Apple dropping them in favor of Apple's own custom ARM processors.

RIGHT, keep telling yourself that.
The obvious lesson to draw from this (and the past three years) is that INTC is a super-reliable partner that delivers everything it promises, and always on a schedule that Apple can trust...
No reason whatever for Apple to move to ARM Macs ASAP.
 
You're both right in that...
IP includes patents. Just because they couldn't get the actual chip to work on time doesn't mean the patents aren't valuable.
the patents could be valuable. But...
The patents would be worthwhile, and the problem may have been a fab problem and not a design problem - perhaps apple could take the netlist and port to TSMC, for example.
the chances are just as likely the patents aren't valuable at all. It would be no more or less likely to give Apple a boost than any other IP Apple could buy or develop on their own.
 
You're both right in that...

the patents could be valuable. But...

the chances are just as likely the patents aren't valuable at all. It would be no more or less likely to give Apple a boost than any other IP Apple could buy or develop on their own.

The sheer quantity of patents would help in future cross-license negotiations, is my point.
 
The sheer quantity of patents would help in future cross-license negotiations, is my point.
I get your point. But my reply wasn't to your point. It was to a quote stating the IP would likely give Apple a boost. That isn't necessarily true. Even your opinion about the quantity isn't necessarily true. Google got a crap ton of IP from Motorola and thought that IP was going to help in negotiations. Turns out they mostly got a ton of crap. The old adage about quantity and quality applies in both instances.
 
Help me understand this. Intel couldn't make their own IP successful. How would Apple get a boost from IP that the creators couldn't make work? The only value I can think of is a blueprint for what not to do.

It would seem to me to be like some company buying the AirPower IP to get a boost.

Some of the IP is bound to be useful; they made working 4g chips after all. That being said, I would rather not have apple-branded intel 2.0 chips
 
I get your point. But my reply wasn't to your point. It was to a quote stating the IP would likely give Apple a boost. That isn't necessarily true. Even your opinion about the quantity isn't necessarily true. Google got a crap ton of IP from Motorola and thought that IP was going to help in negotiations. Turns out they mostly got a ton of crap. The old adage about quantity and quality applies in both instances.

Except we know that intel had enough patents to enable it to at least make a viable financial go of competing with qualcomm in 4G (knowing that they needed a qualcomm license), and many of those same patents are applicable to 5G.
 
Except we know that intel had enough patents to enable it to at least make a viable financial go of competing with qualcomm in 4G (knowing that they needed a qualcomm license), and many of those same patents are applicable to 5G.

Minor correction.
The license fee for both Ericsson and Qualcomm is paid by the device manufacturer and not the chip manufacturer/vendor.
The licenses are based on multi-mode vs single mode devices and the only way to tell an implementation for the license is downstream at the finished device. The same chip can be used for both.
 
Minor correction.
The license fee for both Ericsson and Qualcomm is paid by the device manufacturer and not the chip manufacturer/vendor.
The licenses are based on multi-mode vs single mode devices and the only way to tell an implementation for the license is downstream at the finished device. The same chip can be used for both.

Do we know that intel doesn't pay a license fee? It makes, uses and sells, so it would seem to need a license, at least to any patents that read on the chip itself.
 
The market reaction is telling:

- AAPL up ~1.9%
- INTC up ~3.2%
- QCOM up ~12.2% :eek:

Although it may make sense for all of them, neither Apple nor Intel will be very happy with the situation. Apple because they had to make significant concessions, and Intel because they have a sizeable investment in 5G modem IP (and a large team working on it), now without a clear path to profit. But they made the only decision they could because Apple was the only customer with the kind of scale that Intel is looking for.
 
Despite what some people are insisting in this thread, it's not about the patents that makes Qualcomm a dominant force in mobile modems but it's specifically their implementation ...

Intel or Samsung, despite both being significant participants in the 3GPP body AKA the guys who write the 5G standards COULDN'T save either of their 5G implementations on time to be competitive. This is Apple we're talking about here who are likely starting from scratch and DON'T have significant presence in the 3GPP body so it's very presumptuous to assume that Apple will somehow be ready in as little as 2 years with their own in-house 5G modems for deployment ...
 
Despite what some people are insisting in this thread, it's not about the patents that makes Qualcomm a dominant force in mobile modems but it's specifically their implementation ...

Intel or Samsung, despite both being significant participants in the 3GPP body AKA the guys who write the 5G standards COULDN'T save either of their 5G implementations on time to be competitive. This is Apple we're talking about here who are likely starting from scratch and DON'T have significant presence in the 3GPP body so it's very presumptuous to assume that Apple will somehow be ready in as little as 2 years with their own in-house 5G modems for deployment ...

It's presumptuous to think they won't. Two years is a LONG time in chip development.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.