Do you know it hasn't kept prices lower? Maybe the computers would cost more if Apple was still using Intel processors.
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WSJ: Apple's 5G Modem Prototypes 'Three Years Behind Qualcomm's Best Chip'
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They'll get it eventually. It isn't like Apple has given us a timeline on this and missed it by years. At this point, it's all internal.
I’m not surprised. Qualcomm has been doing this for a long time. They have great engineers and decades of experience. I’m going to be patient with Apple and reserve judgment until they’re ready.
I hate these kind of backstabby stories, where everyone who learned a lot themselves along the way is all too happy to look back and call an effort misguided or pointless.
I look forward to Apple eventually creating their own competitive modem.
I look forward to Apple eventually creating their own competitive modem.
Ultimately, all they need to do is look at the competition and copy it. What holds them back, mostly, is patents and copyright. If they don't wanna pay that licencing and they try to go around the houses to come up with an alternative, if what they say is true, then the patents are pretty extensive and don't allow for any alternative solution.
And? They said Apple was 5 years behind Intel and it ended up being 4. Now, Apple is years ahead of Intel.
How would Qualcomm go out of business if it lost Apple as a customer? Apple only makes up 20 percent of Qualcomm's annual revenue.
Now we know why Macs don't yet have cellular built in.
Even the Apple Watch has a 5G modem. Is that an off-the-shelf Qualcomm modem, or custom-built for the watch?
Articles like this are depressing.
Even the Apple Watch has a 5G modem. Is that an off-the-shelf Qualcomm modem, or custom-built for the watch?
Articles like this are depressing.
Issue here is that Apple is not trying to ditch Qual for performance reasons- performance is great. It’s pricing disputes. That means Apple needs to knock it out of the park in their first shot just to keep up. It’s not like the M chips where Intel was already behind. Add to that all the complexities of modems- IP landscape and ensuring compatibility with multiple wireless generations across multiple countries- and it’s clear why Apple is struggling. Still, I hope they keep up. Qualcomm needs competition and Apple just needs some more time.
Huawei is a leader in the wireless market, with tons of patents and experience. Their wireless business is probably more important than their phone business. Not a comparable situation at all.
Wild that we’re barely 3 years post Apple completely ditching existing laptop/desktop processor chips, changing architecture, and handling it like a champ with near full speed emulation of legacy software and people are already acting like Apple is now incapable of innovation.
Samsung Galaxy S5 mini had an Intel XMM 7160 modem.
Microsoft Sufrace 3 had an Intel XMM 7260 modem.
HP Spectre Folio had an Intel XMM 7560 modem.
HP Envy x2 had an Intel XMM 7360 modem.
Of course they will not lower the price, if Apple silicon is anything to go by.
Next step would be Apple building their own cell towers that their modem can give the best speed while everyone else suffer. But that’s going to be decades away assuming they bother at all.
Should be siloed with Apple car. I would ask how much did the capital hemorrhaged on this project cost the consumer, but Apple probably would have found another reason to charge more anyway for their consumables.
The outcome of the lawsuit from years past is often described as Apple being "forced to settle". There's no way Apple got that far into the lawsuit without knowing it didn't have the modems to continue without Qualcomm. I knew an employee at Qualcomm who said there was an air of panic at that company up until the settlement. Apple's "forced" settlement was undoubtedly on much better terms than their previously existing, double-dipping (on Qualcomm's part) terms. Unlike other companies whose CEO's and PR departments like to act like it's a pissing match, Apple seems fine taking the quiet wins.
Apple loves to maintain absolute secrecy even within Apple. Silo is inevitable if secrecy is the priority, otherwise leaks would be rampant. Model division Managers aren’t really the one to take the blame imo.
Which is surprising to think that iOS isn’t a train wreck despite all the secrecy and absolute control over what employee Can and cannot do, if information silo is pretty common inside Apple.
A report based on what? Did it have something to do with interviewing a former Qualcomm executive, who doesn’t have firsthand knowledge of the progress at Apple? If the WSJ did have sources inside Apple, how would they have a true beat on the progress of the project? No high level engineer would talk to WSJ.
Apple should just sign cross-licensing agreements with Qualcomm and Broadcom and save themselves a lot of headaches. That way, Apple could get access to the latest Qualcomm modem chip for the next iPhone (like the successor to the Snapdragon X75 for the iPhone 16).
Simple solution, buy Qualcomm. Yes, you are gonna be threatened as being a monopoly, but use the case that there are others in the business:
- MediaTek
- Work out an agreement to continue supplying modems to your competitors while work with Qualcomm to integrate the modem in future A series chips to differentiate.
- Just make sure you don't sabotage your competitors by either delaying availability to them.
- Its a win-win, you sell modems to your competitors and make money and you include it for free in your own devices.
- MediaTek
- Work out an agreement to continue supplying modems to your competitors while work with Qualcomm to integrate the modem in future A series chips to differentiate.
- Just make sure you don't sabotage your competitors by either delaying availability to them.
- Its a win-win, you sell modems to your competitors and make money and you include it for free in your own devices.
They recently did just that.
Apple wants to leave Qualcomm not just to save paying them money (though chip purchases, licensing fees and revenue sharing), but also because they want to be able to customize the modems for Apple-specific functionality.
Buying Qualcomm means that they have to keep designing models for all their customers and if they try and make an "Apple modem" alongside a "customer modem" without the Apple-specific functionality, it would increase Apple's costs to have two independent design teams working on two versions of the modem (plus the higher manufacturing costs) and chances are they will stuff up both and we'll see lower performance than if Qualcomm remained independent and continued to design "common" modems for everyone.
Not surprised Apple's modem tech is lagging behind. Qualcomm filed injunctions and lawsuits to stifle any competition against their modem, so Intel wasn't able to even keep stride behind them. Qualcomm is chokehold on the cellular industry, it will probably kill it too.
Qualcomm also supplies SOCs to other smartphone manufacturers. That is the primary reason Apple chose not to buy Arm, they wouldn't sell the chips to anyone else. Apple would have to buy their chip business to get the modems too, which isn't going to happen.
It didn’t bring the prices down, but the performance for the price went way up. The difference between the base model early 2020 Intel MacBook Air and the late 2020 with Apple silicon should really not be understated.