It seems that Apple has already given up on the plan to bring proprietary 5G modems on the iPhone by starting from 2023, and that is from the iPhone 15. The news comes from the well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the same who first in March and then in May 2021 was unbalanced, speaking precisely of Cupertino’s desire to mount on its smartphone chips Homemade 5G.
Kuo, in a series of recent tweets, has indeed explained that something in the development of the 5G modem went wrong due to a series of functional problems which are currently unspecified.
And that means at least for 2023 Qualcomm will remain the exclusive supplier of 5G chips, covering 100% of Apple’s demand also for all new generation iPhones. Initially the estimates would have been very different: in Cupertino in fact they would have initially hoped to satisfy 80% of their needs with the home solution. Following Kuo’s statements, Qualcomm’s shares rose 3%.
In any case, the analyst specified that it would only be a delay on the schedule, and not the abandonment of the project: Apple are determined to continue the development of their 5G chips.
Note, in the margin, that Apple and Qualcomm faced off in a legal battle that lasted several years and linked to some patents on modems: a thorny issue that was resolved in 2019 with all the legal disputes put aside and a new agreement for the supply of the components that are currently on board the iPhone 13.
But the matter still has some aftermath, and just yesterday came news of the US Supreme Court’s rejection of Apple’s request to further investigate a case involving two Qualcomm patents.
