Right now Apple designs its own chipsets which resulted in the A-series of chipsets we’ve seen used in the iPhones and iPads. However there are some components not from Apple, like the LTE modem which at the moment is made by Qualcomm. However according to a report from VentureBeat, Intel now has 1,000 employees that they have dedicated to making the LTE modem for the iPhone 7 which is pegged for a launch in 2016.
Now this isn’t the first time we have heard such rumors. Earlier this year there were talks that Apple could move from Qualcomm to Intel for their LTE needs for next year’s iPhone. Apparently this modem is said to be capable of 450Mbps down and will also support 29 LTE bands, and now with this report, it sounds like things are starting to ramp up quite a bit.
However the report goes on to add that Apple could end up dual-sourcing the LTE modems from both Intel and Qualcomm, which will be an interesting move given that the A9 chipsets this year were dual-sourced from both Samsung and TSMC. This led to “chipgate”/”batterygate” where TSMC’s chipset was found to have better battery life, if only by a small margin.
Assuming there will be discrepancies, and there most probably will, we have to wonder how consumers will react. However VentureBeat’s sources claim that Intel and Apple might not have a signed deal yet, but it is possible that it will be signed soon if Intel is able to meet Apple’s standards and requirements.