Apple Again Said to Adopt Intel LTE Chips for iPhones in 2016 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Apple Again Said to Adopt Intel LTE Chips for iPhones in 2016

by

Some of Apple's iPhones produced in 2016 will use wireless modem chips supplied by Intel rather than Qualcomm, reports VentureBeat. iPhones (presumably the iPhone 7) sold in emerging markets in Asia and Latin America will reportedly use an Intel 7360 LTE modem.

intel-logo

Intel has been gunning hard during the past year for a place in the iPhone and now appears to have succeeded, at least partly. The 7360 chip will ship inside a special version of the iPhone that will be marketed to emerging markets in Asia and Latin America, the sources said.

The 7360 LTE modem chip [PDF] from Intel features up to 450Mbps downlink and it supports 29 LTE bands. It will begin shipping out to manufacturers during the second half of 2015. Apple engineers have reportedly been traveling to Munich, Germany to collaborate with Intel engineers on the chip.

Though VentureBeat suggests the Intel chips might only be used in some iPhones in emerging markets, analyst Ben Bajarin believes that Apple would make the switch universal, rather than using separate chips in different versions of the phone.

Today's report is the second time we've heard inklings of an Intel-Apple modem partnership. KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted Apple's switch from Qualcomm to Intel for its baseband chips back in January. The shift from Qualcomm to Intel for even a portion of LTE chips will be a major loss for Qualcomm, as the company has supplied Apple with modem chips for many years now.

Tags: Intel, Qualcomm
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

BeSweeet Avatar
BeSweeet
145 months ago
Does anybody know which bands it supports? I'd be shocked if it's missing band 12 (though everyone was shocked that even the 6/6+ was lacking it).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I
ilfn143
145 months ago
not a bright future for qualcomm. first samsung stop using snapdragon now apple not going to use their modem.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M
MacFather
145 months ago
Deleted.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
Andrei90
145 months ago
Does the Apple Watch have WiFi? I assumed it does everything with Bluetooth, but I would think it would need WiFi to do handoff for glances and notifications when your phone is out of BT range at home. I didn't see a specs page for Apple Watch on Apple's website.

I think trying to run it without an iPhone would really run down the battery because the iPhone is the device always checking for notifications and running tasks. The Apple Watch just waits for a BT LE signal from the iPhone most of the time.

It would still be interesting to see what people come up with.

Yes it has WiFi, if the Apple Watch is on the same WiFI network as your iPhone you can use that instead of bluetooth.

----------

The rate doesn't matter... a 2 GB movie at 150mbps LTE or 450mbps LTE... is still 2 GB.

----------


Intel has plenty of radio experience. They have entire teams dedicated behind bluetooth, wifi, and other technologies.

They might have different ideas for IC optimizations, they are experts here. More importantly they have the most advanced fabs in the world, often 2 to 3 generations ahead of who Qualcomm would be able to contract to use.

Ive always thought an Apple design SOC produced on Intel's advanced fabs would freaking rock.

Sounds like they may try this with the cellular transceiver first.

You are not getting it. If you have a 1000mbps internet connection and you click by mistake on a youtube video you'll download it completely before you can close it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saucesome2000 Avatar
Saucesome2000
145 months ago
That wouldn't happen unless you plan on downloading an HD movie over cellular. If you're just doing normal day to day things over cellular, speed won't have a big effect on how much data you use.

Actually it does. Look at the reports of Verizon users data use skyrocketing once Verizon got LTE in the iPhone 5. Sites can detect what kind of connection you have and automatically load higher quality content.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kemal Avatar
kemal
145 months ago
Maybe the BB chip comes with 16GB free intel NAND?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments