Apple may choose to use modems manufactured by MediaTek instead of modems from Intel in future iPhones, according to an investor's note from Northland analyst Gus Richard that was shared by Bloomberg.

Little detail was included in the note, but Richard believes Apple could be planning to shift its modem business away from Intel. The accuracy of that prediction is questionable, however, and there's no clear timeline on when Apple might be planning to make the shift. Presumably this would impact 2019 iPhones, as deals for 2018 iPhones are established.

intel iphone x
For many years, Apple relied solely on Qualcomm chips, but added Intel as a manufacturer a couple years ago. Current iPhones use LTE chips from both Qualcomm and Intel, but Apple is embroiled in a lawsuit with Qualcomm and is rumored to be aiming to ditch Qualcomm chips, too.

Given the sheer number of iPhones Apple produces each year, it's not clear if Apple could rely on MediaTek as sole supplier for its LTE chips, so the conflicting rumors of Apple cutting ties with both Intel and Qualcomm are somewhat confusing.

Apple is developing its own modem chips to reduce its reliance on both Intel and Qualcomm, but it will need to continue to use third-party chips until its in-house solution is ready to be deployed in iOS devices.

Current rumors suggest Intel will supply approximately 70 percent of LTE chips set to be used in the 2018 lineup, with the rest of the chips continuing to come from Qualcomm.

Apple is also moving away from Intel chips in its Mac lineup, with rumors suggesting the company is developing its own custom Mac chips that could be deployed as early as 2020.

Tag: Intel

Top Rated Comments

Kaibelf Avatar
86 months ago
If I was Intel, I'll tell Apple to screw off if they gonna play that game. All that money intel is pouring in r&d and machinery and Apple is gonna just play them for a fool. Not worth the investment, let them go back to Qualcomm.
And this simplistic reaction is exactly why you'll never run a successful multinational company. Business and capitalism aren't about some bizarre loyalty or friendship structure. They are ultimately about one thing: profit. If Intel did something like that, they would lose because Apple would just turn to their competitors for all chips outside of processors and likely accelerate the move to ARM completely. They could even potentially tap AMD for processors and give them an enormous leg up.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tubamajuba Avatar
86 months ago
Apple is pretty much out of the pc business as is
Ah, this explains your "screw off" remark in your first comment. You're extrapolating your personal frustrations with Apple onto a multinational profit-driven corporation.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pika2000 Avatar
86 months ago
Multi-sourcing of components is nothing new for Apple, not really news here (other than maybe to speculate on intel's stock).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NIKKG Avatar
86 months ago
If I was Intel, I'll tell Apple to screw off if they gonna play that game. All that money intel is pouring in r&d and machinery and Apple is gonna just play them for a fool. Not worth the investment, let them go back to Qualcomm.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
86 months ago
Apple is also moving away from Intel chips in its Mac lineup, with rumors suggesting the company is developing its own custom Mac chips that could be deployed as early as 2020 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/02/apple-custom-mac-chips-2020/').
There's zero evidence to back up that claim. All speculation. But this is Mac Rumors so anything goes
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avtella Avatar
86 months ago
Good. Intel's cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios have generally always been subpar compared to competitors.
The Intel 8265ac and 9260ac for example are better than their Qualcomm (ie Killer 1535 aka QCA6174A) and Broadcom (numerous Bluetooth issues to the point I replaced quite a few with Intel cards) counterparts stability/reliability wise. Never had an issue with their WiFi cards. Broadcom doesn’t even have properly working MU-MIMO which when enabled actually drops performance and my experience had Bluetooth issues, unlike Qualcomm/Intel client chipsets. Even router chipset side Broadcom is kinda behind.

I’d say at the moment Broadcom is the worst of the three. All the WiFi cards in my laptops are Intel, even the corporation where my father works all their high end Precision/Latitude notebooks use cards ranging from 7265 to 8265 and they prefer those over QCA and BCM (Broadcom cards) during order for reliability. At moment in my experience router side QCA9984 is the best WiFi chipset (ie in R7800, RT2600AC) and client side Intel 8265/9260ac.

Cellular side however Qualcomm is probably the best no doubt. Enough tests have shown that at least with iPhones to the point I buy the QCA sim free phones.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
iPhone 17 Air Size Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With Rear Camera Bar Allegedly Shown in Leaked Photo

Tuesday January 21, 2025 12:46 pm PST by
A leaker known as "Majin Bu" today shared an alleged image of a component for the rumored, ultra-thin "iPhone 17 Air" model. The blurry, pixelated image shows a pair of rear iPhone shells with a pill-shaped, raised camera bar along the top. On the left side of the bar, there is a circular cutout that appears to be for a single rear camera. On the right side of the bar, there appears to be an ...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...
iPhone SE Dynamic Island Majin Bu

iPhone SE 4 Leak Shows Dynamic Island, Casts Doubt on Rumored 'iPhone 16E' Name

Monday January 20, 2025 9:01 am PST by
A new iPhone SE is widely rumored to launch this year, and the device has potentially been confirmed today by known leaker Evan Blass. In a private social media post, Blass shared an image of what appears to be source code mentioning an iPhone SE (4th Gen), which casts doubt on the alternative "iPhone 16E" name rumored for the device. However, the name in the source code could be a...
airtag 4 pack blue

AirTag 2 Launching This Year With These 3 New Features

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:11 am PST by
After a four-year wait, a new AirTag is finally expected to launch in 2025. Below, we recap rumored upgrades for the accessory. A few months ago, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said Apple was aiming to release the AirTag 2 around the middle of 2025. While he did not offer a more specific timeframe, that means the AirTag 2 could be announced by the end of June. The original AirTag was announced...
iOS 19 Roundup Feature

iOS 19 Rumored to Be Compatible With These iPhones

Saturday January 18, 2025 10:28 am PST by
iOS 19 will not drop support for any iPhone models, according to French website iPhoneSoft.fr. The report cited a source who said iOS 19 will be compatible with any iPhone that can run iOS 18, which would mean the following models: iPhone 16 iPhone 16 Plus iPhone 16 Pro iPhone 16 Pro Max iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 iPhon...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Coming Soon: Apple to Announce Them 'Imminently'

Sunday January 19, 2025 8:25 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and it appears the wireless earbuds are coming very soon. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the Powerbeats Pro 2 are "due imminently." In addition to Apple filing the Powerbeats Pro 2 in regulatory databases last month, Gurman said Apple is...
ipad pro 2024

New iPad Pro Reportedly Launching This Year

Tuesday January 21, 2025 6:40 am PST by
Apple plans to release at least one new iPad Pro model this year, according to a supplier-focused report today from Korean website The Elec. It is likely that the 11-inch and 13-inch iPad Pro models would be updated simultaneously. After receiving an OLED display last year, the report said the iPad Pro will receive only "minor" changes this year. Overall, the next iPad Pro is expected to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...