Qualcomm: Apple will no longer use our modems in upcoming iPhones

Qualcomm says that as of this year, Apple will no longer use its modems in new iPhones. That would mean that the models coming out this year will only have modems from Intel. The cause is probably the legal conflict between the two companies.

Qualcomm’s chief financial officer George S. Davis said during an earnings call that Apple plans to use only “competitor modems” in upcoming iPhones. Qualcomm will continue to supply modems for existing models. A transcript of the call can be found at Seeking Alpha.

Qualcomm doesn’t mention Intel by name, but it’s currently the only other manufacturer that supplies modems for iPhones. With that, it seems that the iPhone models that Apple will release this fall will only contain Intel models. At the end of last year, Intel presented a modem that is suitable for 5G networks. Apple has been using Intel modems since the arrival of the iPhone 7, but until now they did so alongside copies of Qualcomm.

At the end of last year, there was already a rumor that Apple would consider stopping Qualcomm modems in iPhones and iPads. According to those rumors, Apple would switch to modems from Intel and perhaps also copies of MediaTek.

Apple and Qualcomm have been engaged in a legal battle since early last year. Apple sued Qualcomm over a royalty dispute. The iPhone maker wants a number of patents invalidated and demands that Qualcomm pay back a billion dollars. The amounts for license payments should also be reduced, according to Apple.

Qualcomm, in turn, sued Apple. The chip designer is claiming compensation, because Apple would not have fulfilled agreements. The company also demands that Apple no longer interfere with agreements between Qualcomm and manufacturers that make the iPhone and iPad on behalf of Apple. In addition, the chip designer accuses Apple of inciting regulators to ‘attack’ the company.