Next MacBooks could use Apple modem — and say goodbye to Qualcomm

Side by side MacBooks could employ Apple modem — and say farewell to Qualcomm

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple tree has started working on its ain cellular modem that would replace the current Qualcomm chips, according to a recent Bloomberg report. Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of hardware technologies stated every bit much at Apple tree's recent town hall meeting with employees, which immediately afflicted Qualcomm stock, dropping its value 4.4% in early trading.

Johny Srouji also stated, "This yr, nosotros kicked off the development of our first internal cellular modem which will enable another primal strategic transition," he said. "Long-term strategic investments like these are a critical part of enabling our products and making sure we accept a rich pipeline of innovative technologies for our future."

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As we know, cellular modems are one of the most important chipsets in phones, and other devices that use wireless communications. Apple has had battles with both Intel and Qualcomm in the past over modem chips but purchased Intel'south modem business in 2022 to outset addressing these bug.

Johny Srouji said the $i billion acquisition of Intel Corp.'s modem business in 2022 helped Apple build a squad of engineers to develop its own cellular modem and that the modem is 1 of a few wireless chips the company designs (along with the W-series in the Apple Picket and U1 in the iPhone) itself.

Nonetheless, fret not on Qualcomm's behalf because Srouji said he didn't know when a cellular modem would be ready to ship in products just, as Bloomberg noted, a 2022 patent understanding between Apple tree and Qualcomm includes a six-year licensing pact. Since Qualcomm charges license fees to phone makers based on wireless patents it owns, regardless of whether they use its chips or not, it looks similar they'll still gain a turn a profit even with Apple seemingly moving away from Qualcomm'southward chips.

In this humble observer'south opinion, Apple tree seems to be cutting ties with as many third parties as possible while it makes its products even far more than proprietary and in-house. My question to other computer and cell telephone manufacturers is, will you follow arrange? Are we going to see others start to develop CPUs, GPUs, and other chipsets in the future?

Mark has spent xx years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written nearly every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social problems, and tech. He wrote his commencement tech manufactures for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for vehement things downwards and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his easily on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can exist found at his desk-bound snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.