Apple in talks to acquire Intel’s modem business

By Xite - July 24, 2019
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Apple is negotiating to acquire Intel's modem division for approx $1 billion. The deal would give Apple key patents and engineering talents that will help Apple enhance cellular connectivity on its ph....

Tech giant Apple is planning to buy Intel’s model business for $1 billion. The deal, which is reported to be announced next week, would give Apple key engineering talents and patents that would boost the development of cellular connectivity in its mobile devices.

In April, Intel announced it is exiting the 5G mobile division after Apple settled with Qualcomm, which would see the US-based iPhone maker once again start using the Qualcomm’s chips in its phones.

Soon after the surprise settlement, Intel CEO Bob Swan clarified that Intel is exiting the modem business directly because of the Apple settlement, and Intel is not seeing a path way forward.

Earlier, Apple was planning to Intel 5G chips for its next generation of iPhones, but as Intel was not able to develop chips in the timeframe that worked with its plans to release 5G-ready smartphones, forced Apple to settle with Qualcomm after fighting a legal dispute for years. Before Apple, Qualcomm settlement, Intel was the only third party modem provider for 2018 iPhone models.

For long, Apple was Intel’s major customer for modems, while almost every other Android phone maker relied on Qualcomm or in-house chips.

This year, Apple is planning to launch the iPhone 11 that will for the first time sport a triple camera setup at the back, a smaller notch and will run iOS 13. The triple rear camera array consists of a standard wide-angle unit, an ultra-wide angle unit and a telephoto unit. All the three sensors might be 12MP and is said to be developed by Sony. The camera could also include a mode for underwater photography for which Apple has also filed a patent that describes a system that has the ability to automatically adjust the camera settings when the iPhone is underwater.

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