Apple seeks to end reliance on Qualcomm by working on its own Cellular Modem
Supertino-based tech giant Apple recently wowed the world by launching its first-ever in-house silicon chips for Mac computers starting with the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and the Mac Mini. The Apple M1 chip on the new Mac computers replaced the Intel processors on the three respective Mac computers.
A reports shows that Apple’s chip chief internally revealing that a second chip transition is already in the works. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple may be working on a cellular modem. This could help Apple locally produce its chips and reduce its reliance on Qualcomm chips. Not only that, as soon as Apple succeeds, other tech giants are expected to follow suit.
“This year, we kicked off the development of our first internal cellular modem which will enable another key strategic transition,” says Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president for hardware.
This development comes as one of the most significant updates after Apple bought Intel’s smartphone modem business in July last year. This move suggested that it was only a matter of time before the company started developing its own radio chips.
Before the deal with Intel was put through, Apple reached a settlement with Qualcomm over patent infringement and shook on a multi-year deal around the two companies’ wireless IP, where it paid Qualcomm $4.5 billion (roughly Rs 33,000 crores) resulting in Qualcomm supplying Apple the chips it needed to build this year’s 5G iPhones.
This could help Apple locally produce its chips and reduce its reliance on Qualcomm chips. Not only that, as soon as Apple succeeds, other tech giants are expected to follow suit.
Apple fans expect exactly that to happen. They expect that Apple could end up making a better performing radio chip and offer better battery life as was exactly the case with its new ARM chips.