Rumor: Qualcomm wanted more than half of iPhones to have their own modem

Qualcomm was willing to provide modem chips for the iPhone XS and XR if Apple promised to use Qualcomm chips in at least half of its iPhones in the next two years, according to an email to Bloomberg. The companies couldn’t figure it out.

Modem iPhone XS. Source: TechInsights

Financial news agency Bloomberg does not publish the emails, but does write about them. In the emails, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf says Apple can get the requested access to software to integrate the modems into upcoming iPhones. Apple CEO Jeff Williams had asked for that. Mollenkopf stipulated that Apple would put Qualcomm chips in at least half of its iPhones in the next two years. The rest of the negotiations are unknown.

The emails show that Apple and Qualcomm have been negotiating the use of chips in new iPhones, while both companies were already in a legal battle over licensing at the time. The assumption has always been that Apple therefore passed Qualcomm as a supplier of iPhone parts. Williams recently said that Apple had tried to buy Qualcomm chips but was unsuccessful.

It is unknown exactly how the negotiations broke down. All new iPhones now have a modem chip from competitor Intel. As a result, the modem of the iPhone XS and XR is now a small x86 processor.