Apple's iPhone modem design is three years behind Qualcomm

To the contrary of what some people claimed, it was never going to be easy. Not in software or in hardware.

5G is a huge collection of different standards and technologies falling under one general umbrella. 

A few years ago you could have got away with NSA but now you have to support SA and advances for the immediate future (5.5G) and then be ready for 6G.

Realistically speaking Apple needed to be at the table where the standards themselves are thrashed out. 

Without a seat at those tables you will always be playing catch up to a certain degree. 

They acquired the Intel division plus accumulated patents. You could argue that got them onto the ladder. Climbing it is another story. 

The odds of Apple producing a superior product to anything Huawei, Samsung, Qualcomm, Broadcom can produce are limited simply because those companies have decades of accumulated knowhow and resources.

Perhaps 'good enough' is where they are happy to be at the moment in terms of verticality in manufacturing. I think that's a valid aim but it won't free them of patent agreements. 

Beyond the modem and antenna designs themselves, the whole thing was a result of a massive strategic goof. The spat with Qualcomm. 

When the Intel plan collapsed it really was a Yikes! moment and although we don't know the details of the deal, it's hard to imagine Qualcomm not having the upper hand in negotiations. 

Read the story on how huawei got into cellular business. Not from the scratch for sure

avon b7 said:

To the contrary of what some people claimed, it was never going to be easy. Not in software or in hardware.

5G is a huge collection of different standards and technologies falling under one general umbrella. 

A few years ago you could have got away with NSA but now you have to support SA and advances for the immediate future (5.5G) and then be ready for 6G.

Realistically speaking Apple needed to be at the table where the standards themselves are thrashed out. 

Without a seat at those tables you will always be playing catch up to a certain degree. 

They acquired the Intel division plus accumulated patents. You could argue that got them onto the ladder. Climbing it is another story. 

The odds of Apple producing a superior product to anything Huawei, Samsung, Qualcomm, Broadcom can produce are limited simply because those companies have decades of accumulated knowhow and resources.

Perhaps 'good enough' is where they are happy to be at the moment in terms of verticality in manufacturing. I think that's a valid aim but it won't free them of patent agreements. 

Beyond the modem and antenna designs themselves, the whole thing was a result of a massive strategic goof. The spat with Qualcomm. 

When the Intel plan collapsed it really was a Yikes! moment and although we don't know the details of the deal, it's hard to imagine Qualcomm not having the upper hand in negotiations. 

It's funny, but I would use your exact same argument against Huawei/HiSilicon/SMIC, which are firmly anchored in pushing older Western tech to its limits, five years behind and attempting to break out. Who do you think is going to be more successful in their endeavors? Huawei/HiSilicon/SMIC or Apple?

And while some have lauded Huawei’s HiSilicon chip design business for beating Apple to the punch with the apparent development of its own 5G modem in China’s Mate 60 Pro, lab tests show that Huawei’s chips consume more power than competitors’ and cause the phone “to heat up” which is bad for performance.

So yeah, modems are hard.

Apple’s custom modem work continues, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests we’ll likely see them gradually roll out before the current Qualcomm deal expires in 2026.

Qualcomm may have had the "upper hand" in negotiations, and has recently seen a reprieve, but it in fact Apple that was visionary enough to add long term options to the agreement, just in case.  Should Apple deliver their own modem by 2026, or even later, it is due to Apple being able to generate enough revenue and profits to more than afford that considerable R&D effort. 

You know, the same company that set the bar for smartphones some 16 years ago, which nobody saw coming.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/06/29/12-years-of-iphone-why-apples-first-smartphone-was-far-from-a-guaranteed-success

tmay said:

avon b7 said:

To the contrary of what some people claimed, it was never going to be easy. Not in software or in hardware.

5G is a huge collection of different standards and technologies falling under one general umbrella. 

A few years ago you could have got away with NSA but now you have to support SA and advances for the immediate future (5.5G) and then be ready for 6G.

Realistically speaking Apple needed to be at the table where the standards themselves are thrashed out. 

Without a seat at those tables you will always be playing catch up to a certain degree. 

They acquired the Intel division plus accumulated patents. You could argue that got them onto the ladder. Climbing it is another story. 

The odds of Apple producing a superior product to anything Huawei, Samsung, Qualcomm, Broadcom can produce are limited simply because those companies have decades of accumulated knowhow and resources.

Perhaps 'good enough' is where they are happy to be at the moment in terms of verticality in manufacturing. I think that's a valid aim but it won't free them of patent agreements. 

Beyond the modem and antenna designs themselves, the whole thing was a result of a massive strategic goof. The spat with Qualcomm. 

When the Intel plan collapsed it really was a Yikes! moment and although we don't know the details of the deal, it's hard to imagine Qualcomm not having the upper hand in negotiations. 

It's funny, but I would use your exact same argument against Huawei/HiSilicon/SMIC, which are firmly anchored in pushing older Western tech to its limits, five years behind and attempting to break out. Who do you think is going to be more successful in their endeavors? Huawei/HiSilicon/SMIC or Apple?

And while some have lauded Huawei’s HiSilicon chip design business for beating Apple to the punch with the apparent development of its own 5G modem in China’s Mate 60 Pro, lab tests show that Huawei’s chips consume more power than competitors’ and cause the phone “to heat up” which is bad for performance.

So yeah, modems are hard.

Apple’s custom modem work continues, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests we’ll likely see them gradually roll out before the current Qualcomm deal expires in 2026.

Qualcomm may have had the "upper hand" in negotiations, and has recently seen a reprieve, but it in fact Apple that was visionary enough to add long term options to the agreement, just in case.  Should Apple deliver their own modem by 2026, or even later, it is due to Apple being able to generate enough revenue and profits to more than afford that considerable R&D effort. 

You know, the same company that set the bar for smartphones some 16 years ago, which nobody saw coming.

https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/06/29/12-years-of-iphone-why-apples-first-smartphone-was-far-from-a-guaranteed-success

First point: Huawei (and by a wide margin). Designing a modem and manufacturing the design are two different things and five years is a world away in technology. 

Second point: if 'visionary' were even applicable, they would never have found themselves in this predicament in the first place. It was more a case of not having any more cards to play. To Qualcomm it just means one less competitor (and even that term is a stretch) and much more money.

Older western tech? 

I hope you realise that NearLink devices are now shipping. LOL!

https://techjaja.com/huawei-nearlink-wireless-revolution/

jfabula1 said:

Read the story on how huawei got into cellular business. Not from the scratch for sure

Your point makes no sense. Apple bought its way in through a million dollar purchase. 

The real issue is what I outlined in my post. Apple will never reach the top players until it finds a seat on the standards committees which shape the future.