Apple may be in talks to purchase Intel’s smartphone modem chipset division for approximately $1 billion according to The Wall Street Journal.
In April this year, Intel announced that it was exiting the mobile 5G modem market as a result of Apple’s surprise settlement with Qualcomm after the two companies had been battling over patent licensing practices for over two years. According to The Verge, Intel was unable to see a way forward after losing Apple as a customer.
According to Bloomberg, Apple ended its dispute with Qualcomm out of necessity in order to adequately equip future iPhones with 5G chipsets, something they felt Intel would not be able to provide within their required timeframe.
This lead to Intel looking to auction off many of its smartphone modem patents. Venturebeat then reported that Intel had pulled the entire portfolio off the market in order to give an unnamed buyer – rumoured to be Apple – an opportunity to review the assets ahead of an offer. IT would make sense for Apple to purchase Intel’s mobile 5G division as it would allow the Cupertino company the ability to speed up its own, in-house 5G chipsets and end its reliance on Qualcomm.
