Apple Extends Deal With Qualcomm as Custom 5G Modem Delayed

[MacRumors]

Apple has extended its agreement to obtain modems from Qualcomm for three more years, in what appears to be a sign that work on the company's own custom 5G modem is taking longer than previously expected, Bloomberg reports.

Apple is Qualcomm's biggest client, accounting for almost a quarter of the supplier's revenue. In a statement, Qualcomm said that the deal with Apple covers "smartphone launches in 2024, 2025 and 2026." The agreement was originally set to expire this year and the iPhone 15 lineup was once rumored to be the last to rely on Qualcomm modems.

The extension of the deal indicates that Apple's work on its own custom 5G modem is taking considerably longer than expected. Apple has reportedly been working on its own modem since 2018 and it acquired the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019. The time frame for launching the modem has slipped from 2023 to 2024 or 2025, but Bloomberg now believes it has an even "longer runway" before it will be ready.

While the new agreement extends to 2026, Apple could still begin rolling out its own modem in new devices before then. Earlier this month, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that the modem will launch in 2025. Apple's apparent plan to gradually transition to its custom modem technology is indicated by the fact that Qualcomm expects to still have a 20 percent share of iPhone shipments when the 2026 iPhone launches, suggesting that Apple will continue using Qualcomm modems in a minority of iPhones at this time.

Apple purportedly wants its custom 5G modem to mirror its work on Apple silicon, touting considerable battery life and performance benefits. Thus far, the company's work on the component has apparently been mired by battery life issues and bureaucratic challenges, such as certifying the modem with connectivity authorities.

Article Link: Apple Extends Deal With Qualcomm as Custom 5G Modem Delayed

 

[nt5672]

Imagine that. Intel's old baby evidently has some problems.

 

[Leon Ze Professional]

Qualcomm are smiling from ear to ear! For Apple this is humble pie time! Have they bitten off more than they can chew?

 

[ItsASpider]

Hopefully this also means they'll detach the SE 4 from this project and just allow it to release.

 

[jonnysods]

A long dev time is a good thing, glad they are slow to roll this out and not use us for beta testing.

 

[phill85]

Thank goodness. I was worried my 16 Pro might have an apple designed modem. Please don’t take me back to the days of the iPhone 11 Pro connectivity… constant dropped calls, shakey reception. I’m a huge apple fan, but they need to stick with qualcomm.

 

[JustSomebody12]

Imagine that. Intel's old baby evidently has some problems.

They bought it in 2019, now it has quite some time...

 

[btrach144]

Seems like a lot of work. Apple must feel strongly on this

 

[bLackjackj]

Qualcomm are smiling from ear to ear! For Apple this is humble pie time!

Are you joking? It's the other way around! If Qualcomm were to ever lose Apple as a customer, their share price would tank! A quarter of all revenue comes from 1 customer! That's not how you should run ANY business.

Apple have Qualcomm by the cahoonies on price and delivery.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

This will be obsolete and the world will have moved on to 6G by the time it's released!

 

[k1121j]

I'm excited to see what apple can produce. I wish Apple would just start their own cell carrier service.

 

[senttoschool]

Apple bought the business unit from Intel in 2019, when Intel's culture was in ruins. Everything was delayed at Intel at that time. No team was executing well. It seems like Apple hasn't fixed the culture. That's unfortunate.

I blame WFH as well. Apple bought the unit in December 2019. Shortly after, everyone started working from home - wasting years of productivity and culture change.

 

[fatTribble]

I know nothing about the work involved in creating these complex components so let me express strong opinions 🤪

I would have thought a modem design would be an afternoon napkin drawing for the engineers who develop Apple silicon.

 

[thegerman]

Apple should pull itself out of business. Qualcomm is the market leader and so it will remain for the time being.
Apple brings 5G modem out:
Tim Cook:WOoOoW wHaT a Big leAd fOr AppLe!!!!!1
Meanwhile Qualcomm brings 6G out 😂😂

 

[citysnaps]

I would gave thought a modem design would be an afternoon napkin drawing for the engineers who develop Apple silicon.

That's far from reality.

Qualcomm has a rich history of developing algorithms and communications modem chips starting with two of its founders, Drs. Andrew Vitirbi and Irwin Jacobs. Long ago they pretty much wrote the book with respect to modern digital communications science. Qualcomm as a company has loads of patents protecting their work.

It's so much more than just designing chips.

 

[Populus]

Good move. If research on their in-house modem is not going at the expected pace, it’s sensible to extend their partnership, as Qualcomm modems work quite well.

I guess that, by the time Apple launches their in-house modem, they will release it integrated on the main SoC and possibly with 6G technology already.

 

[ItsASpider]

I blame WFH as well. Apple bought the unit in December 2019. Shortly after, everyone started working from home - wasting years of productivity and culture change.

So, you're blaming something of which you have no knowledge and for which you have no reason to put that blame on?

 

[nt5672]

I know nothing about the work involved in creating these complex components so let me express strong opinions 🤪

I would gave thought a modem design would be an afternoon napkin drawing for the engineers who develop Apple silicon.

RF is a different animal.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Apple should pull itself out of business. Qualcomm is the market leader and so it will remain for the time being.
Apple brings 5G modem out:
Tim Cook:WOoOoW wHaT a Big leAd fOr AppLe!!!!!1
Meanwhile Qualcomm brings 6G out 😂😂

If 6G is the flop that 5G has been, there isn't much to worry about.

 

[Schmitti81]

You guys know, that Apple needs to have the contract until the last phone is sold using Qualcomm chips?

They may do their own 5G in some phones any time, but they need to keep Qualcomm available until the last iPhone with it is discontinued.

 

[Fat_Guy]

It’s better for “your” phone security that Apple does not make its own modem. As long as the modem is by another company some walls will always be up. If Apple makes their own modem there will probably be no security walls and we will just have to “trust” them that they won’t abuse this much control…

 

[LegendaryAced]

I'm glad that Qualcomm is staying for a bit longer as they have proven to be more stable and overall perform better. We are yet to see mmWave support in Europe though with some providers already having public tests. Are they planning to support it before the providers? They arlready have the mmWave model in the US anyway...

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I'm glad that Qualcomm is staying for a bit longer as they have proven to be more stable and overall perform better. We are yet to see mmWave support in Europe though with some providers already having public tests. Are they planning to support it before the providers? They already have the mmWave model in the US anyway...

Supposedly. I travel quite a bit within the US and have yet to see mmwave.

I have no use for it as a I never download anything or stream video on my phone, but I'd like to see it anyway.

 

[NMBob]

I guess the time when a computer company could just walk in and build a phone chip are over, especially when no one wants to come in to work.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

I guess the time when a computer company could just walk in and build a phone chip are over

That era ended over a decade ago.

Additionally, these are RF chips and worlds different from processors.