Apple Secures Intel Modem Division After Years of Legal Battles
Apple acquires Intel's smartphone modem business for $1 billion, a move rooted in a decade of shifting supplier alliances and major legal disputes with Qualcomm.
Apple officially acquires Intel's smartphone modem business for $1 billion, marking a major shift in how the tech giant handles its cellular hardware. This purchase traces its roots back to 2011, when Intel buys the wireless division of Infineon, the very company that originally supplied baseband chips for early iPhones. Intel then gradually works its way back into Apple's supply chain, eventually sharing modem duties with Qualcomm for the iPhone 7.
Intel's rise to become the sole modem supplier for the 2018 iPhone lineup stems largely from an escalating legal war between Apple and Qualcomm. Regulatory bodies in South Korea and the United States accuse Qualcomm of unfair licensing practices and anticompetitive behavior. As these lawsuits intensify, Apple completely drops Qualcomm modems from the iPhone XS and XR models, forcing a sudden reliance on Intel's hardware.
The unexpected acquisition of Intel's modem arm gives Apple full control over its future cellular chip development as the industry transitions to 5G. By bringing the Intel engineering team in-house, Apple eliminates its need to rely on external rivals for such a critical component. This strategic move positions Apple to design its own custom modems and integrate them more deeply into its proprietary chipsets.