Re: Mark Gurman on Apple's integrated 5G modem chip designs

Andrew <andrew@spam.net> wrote:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-08-18/why-is-apple-building-own-modem-company-plays-long-game-in-dropping-qualcomm-lzzk8616
 
In keeping with the common knowledge Apple is five to ten years behind the
competition in iPhone design, Mark Gurman is in the news today on Apple's
4G modem project (which was announced in 2018 but which started years
earlier at Intel, which Apple partly funded and then purchased outright).
 
https://www.benzinga.com/news/24/08/40432158/why-apple-is-plowing-billions-of-dollars-into-a-project-that-wont-have-a-payoff-near-term-gurman-wei
  "Apple decided to take up modem chip manufacturing in 2018 when it faced
a legal battle with Qualcomm over royalties and patents. The two parties
reached a settlement a year later, agreeing to dismiss all litigation
between the two companies worldwide.
 
Apple agreed to make a payment to Qualcomm and the two also signed a
six-year license agreement, effective as of April 1, 2019, including a
two-year option to extend, and a multiyear chipset supply agreement.
 
Apple Persists: Despite the pushbacks, Apple is pushing ahead, said Gurman,
adding that the company has earmarked "billions of dollars, thousands of
engineers and millions of working hours to a project that won't really
improve its devices - at least at the outset."
 
Some Apple insiders are resigned to the fact that customers don't care
about whether the modem used in their phones are made in-house or
outsourced. Taking modem manufacturing in-house could help make the
marketing pitch that most important iPhone components are made in-house but
user experience won't noticeably change, said Gurman."
 
https://www.phonearena.com/news/apple-spending-billions-probably-wont-improve-devices_id161520
 
  'Current Apple devices use modems supplied by Qualcomm, a practice that
Apple has been wanting to move away from since 2018. However, the company
has been unable to produce a satisfactory unit since starting development
six years ago: often running into problems with performance and heating.
 
Gurman argues that one reason for Apple wanting its own modems is so that
the company can market its devices as having in-house components. Another
reason may be that Apple reportedly plans to develop a unified chip that
handles all wireless functions including WiFi and Bluetooth.
 
If I had to guess, I'd say it was just because Apple feels that it pays
Qualcomm too much. The marketing gimmicks and unified chips may follow. But
the reason Apple is working so hard for an in-house modem today is so it
doesn't owe Qualcomm anything tomorrow. Something which, as Gurman points
out, is unlikely to happen because Qualcomm holds too many patents."
 
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-08-18/why-is-apple-building-own-modem-company-plays-long-game-in-dropping-qualcomm-lzzk8616
https://www.patentlyapple.com/2024/08/apples-upcoming-5g-modem-will-take-years-before-its-devices-will-provide-potential-advantages.html
 

If I’m paying $1000+ for a premium phone, I want the “best” components in
it. I don’t care who made them, just that the components are reliable and
work well.