Why Apple and Qualcomm clash over modem chips
Apple has invested billions of dollars to develop its own modem chip and free itself from Qualcomm. But the project is proving to be longer and more difficult than expected. All the details
Apple invested a lot, several billion dollars, to produce a modem chip for its iPhone. It has set itself the goal of starting deliveries in the spring of 2025, but according to Bloomberg sources it is likely to exceed the target , postponing it to the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026, close to the closing of the contract with Qualcomm .
Apple would like to produce modem chips internally (which are used to connect smartphones to mobile networks for making phone calls and browsing the Internet), but is having difficulties in their development: after all, it is a very sophisticated component, and competes with Qualcomm's advanced technologies is difficult.
APPLE'S MODEM CHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Since 2018, Apple has put thousands of employees to work on a modem chip that is intended to download data at a faster rate than current technology allows. The efforts, however, are not giving the desired results: according to Bloomberg sources, Apple "is still far from solving the problem"; the agency calls the development process “a long and frustrating journey for the company.”
As proof of Apple's difficulties with the development of the modem chip, Qualcomm recently made it known that it will continue to supply its devices to the Cupertino company for the next few years: the relationship should have been interrupted in 2024, but instead it was extended until end of 2026.
THE LEGAL BATTLE WITH QUALCOMM
Apple's plans for modem chip self-sufficiency began more than five years ago, during a legal battle with Qualcomm over royalties that ended in 2019. In 2020, Qualcomm agreed to supply 5G modem chips for the iPhone 12 and then later models .
Only a few months after the resolution of the dispute with Qualcomm, Apple made it clear that it wanted to sever relations with the supplier: it purchased the modem division of Intel (one of the largest microchip producing companies) for 1 billion dollars and hired a lot of staff (including experts of wireless technologies coming from MediaTek and also from Qualcomm itself). At first, Apple thought it would be able to develop modem chips by 2024.
A CRITICAL COMPONENT
But the modem chip is a critical component, which requires enormous attention: if it doesn't work well – explains Bloomberg – calls can suddenly stop and smartphones can lose connection to the Internet, with enormous damage to the user experience.
Given the delays on iPhones, Apple could introduce its modem chips first on iPads and Apple Watches, which don't have the same connectivity needs.
Apple's first modem chip will be a stand-alone device, that is, a separate component from those inside iPhones. The plan, however, involves developing a system that combines the modem with system-on-a-chip technology that saves space on the device.
In addition to Qualcomm, Apple would soon like to do without Broadcom, which supplies it with wireless and Bluetooth semiconductors.
RECOVER LAND
The modem chip project, however, is the most important one. But it is still at an early stage of development, and according to Bloomberg sources the first version of the component, once completed, will still be behind the competition, remaining so for several years: Apple's modem does not support (but iPhones yes) mmWave technology, which allows connection speeds almost five times higher than standard ones.
Qualcomm's technology is superior, widespread and therefore well established. Apple must be careful not to infringe on the intellectual properties of the supplier, to whom it currently pays a sum of around 9 dollars for each iPhone containing its technology.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/apple-qualcomm-chip-modem/ on Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:06:58 +0000.