Apple Hunting for Wireless Modem Engineers Near Qualcomm's San Diego Headquarters

iphone xr displayAccording to a new report out today by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman and Ian King, Apple is aggressively hiring engineers in San Diego, the headquarters of Qualcomm. Apple is looking for designers in San Diego who will help develop wireless components and processors for its iPhones, a move that would further weaken Qualcomm.

Apple posted 10 job listings in San Diego over the past month, looking for engineers to work on the company's Neural Engine artificial intelligence processor and wireless modems. This is the first time Apple has publicly recruited for these types of jobs in San Diego.

Apple is said to be working on building its own wireless chip for future iPhone models, but as of yet the company has relied on companies like Qualcomm and Intel for such technology.

Following the dispute with Qualcomm, Apple made Intel the exclusive supplier of wireless modems for the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR in 2018.

The two companies have been embroiled in a legal dispute since early 2017, with the most recent news suggesting that Apple is not in talks "at any level" to settle the dispute. Next, Apple is gearing up for a full legal trial with Qualcomm.

The lawsuits started when Apple in January 2017 sued Qualcomm for $1 billion, accusing Qualcomm of charging unfair royalties for "technologies they have nothing to do with" and failing to pay quarterly rebates. Apple and its suppliers stopped paying licensing fees at that time.

Qualcomm eventually filed a countersuit claiming that Apple had infringed on several of its patents, and attested that its technology is "at the heart of every iPhone." Since then, both companies have filed multiple lawsuits against one another, and Qualcomm even sought import and export bans on some iPhones in the United States and China.

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 18

Apple Seeds Second Release Candidate Versions of iOS 18.2 and More With Genmoji, Image Playground and ChatGPT Integration

Monday December 9, 2024 10:06 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 updates to developers and public beta testers for testing purposes, a week after releasing the first RCs. The first iOS 18.2 RC had a build number of 22C150, while the second RC's build number is 22C151. Release candidates represent the final version of beta software that's expected to see a ...
Generic iOS 18

When Is iOS 18.2 Coming Out?

Tuesday December 10, 2024 1:43 am PST by
The next iOS 18.2 update featuring more substantial Apple Intelligence features will be released to the public before the holidays, according to Apple, but we have a more definite timeframe from other sources. In a newsroom article dated October 28 highlighting Apple Intelligence capabilities, Apple states that "new ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features will be available in December." Then in...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iPhone SE 4 Said to Feature 48MP Rear Lens, 12MP TrueDepth Camera

Monday December 9, 2024 4:48 am PST by
Apple's forthcoming iPhone SE 4 will feature a single 48-megapixel rear camera and a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera on the front, according to details revealed in a new Korean supply chain report. ET News reports that Korea-based LG Innotek is the main supplier of the front and rear camera modules for the more budget-friendly ~$400 device, which is expected to launch in the first quarter of...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.2

Thursday December 5, 2024 11:48 am PST by
Apple seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.2 today, which means it's going to see a public launch imminently. Release candidates represent the final version of new software that will be provided to the public should no last minute bugs be found, and Apple includes release notes with the RC launch. The iOS 18.2 release notes provide a look at all of the new features that are coming...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

MacBook Pros With OLED Displays Won't Have a Notch, Roadmap Shows

Monday December 9, 2024 7:36 am PST by
Apple plans to remove the notch from the MacBook Pro in a few years from now, according to a roadmap shared by research firm Omdia. The roadmap shows that 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models released in 2026 will have a hole-punch camera at the top of the display, instead of a notch. It is unclear if there would simply be a pinhole in the display, or if Apple would expand the iPhone's...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Friday December 6, 2024 4:42 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls...
vipps nfc tap to pay iphone

World's First Apple Pay Alternative for iPhone Launches in Norway

Monday December 9, 2024 1:28 am PST by
Norwegian payment service Vipps has become the world's first company to launch a competing tap-to-pay solution to Apple Pay on iPhone, following Apple's agreement with European regulators to open up its NFC technology to third parties. Starting December 9, Vipps users in Norway can make contactless payments in stores using their iPhones. The service initially supports customers of SpareBank...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

iPhone 17 'Air' Expected to Be ~2mm Thinner Than iPhone 16 Pro

Friday December 6, 2024 4:07 pm PST by
In 2025, Apple is planning to debut a thinner version of the iPhone that will be sold alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. This iPhone 17 "Air" will be about two millimeters thinner than the current iPhone 16 Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The iPhone 16 Pro is 8.25mm thick, so an iPhone 17 that is 2mm thinner would come in at around 6.25mm. At 6.25mm,...
airpods pro 2 gradient

AirPods Pro 3 Expected Next Year: Here's What We Know

Thursday November 28, 2024 3:30 am PST by
Despite being released over two years ago, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 continue to dominate the wireless earbud market. However, with the AirPods Pro 3 expected to launch sometime in 2025, anyone thinking of buying Apple's premium earbuds may be wondering if the next generation is worth holding out for. Apart from their audio and noise-canceling performance, which are generally regarded as...

Top Rated Comments

AngerDanger Avatar
79 months ago
PSA: to avoid being mistaken for a wireless modem engineer, do not wear their telltale thick glasses, flannel shirts, and lustrous hipster facial hair. Please advise family members to do the same until the end of wireless modem engineer season. Thank you.

Score: 45 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KazKam Avatar
79 months ago
PSA: to avoid being mistaken for a wireless modem engineer, do not wear their telltale thick glasses, flannel shirts, and lustrous hipster facial hair. Please advise family members to do the same until the end of wireless modem engineer season. Thank you.
LOL, I was thinking along the same lines. Here's what popped into my head...

"Be vewy vewy qwiet, I'm hunting wyewess modem engineews."

Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gavroche Avatar
79 months ago
Thousands of defective phones and Apple covered up the problem by removing post on there site and banning people. To this date there is still no fix for the problem. The thread may be slowing down cause most realize that Apple will not be able to fix bad hardware till next year.
Darn... here I’ve been using my iPhone XS Max for over a month.... and didn’t even realize it wasn’t working the whole time!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
69Mustang Avatar
79 months ago
In an ally behind Qualcomm HQ...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ghostface147 Avatar
79 months ago
Well do they have a deer stand set up?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Weaselboy Avatar
79 months ago
If you can’t beat em, steal their employees! ;)
California does not allow non-compete employment clauses, so Qualcomm can't stop Apple from hiring these people, but it does make me wonder how much an ex-Qualcomm employee could contribute at Apple without using proprietary information they absorbed while working at Qualcomm.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)