Apple's Acquisition of Intel's Smartphone Modem Business Completed, Intel Admits 'Multi-Billion Dollar Loss'

Monday December 2, 2019 8:28 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Intel today announced it has completed the sale of the majority of its smartphone modem business to Apple for $1 billion following regulatory approval. The transaction was first announced in July and includes intellectual property, equipment, and approximately 2,200 Intel employees joining Apple.

Intel 5G Modem
The deal sees Apple acquire a large portfolio of wireless patents from Intel. Apple now holds over 17,000 wireless technology patents, ranging from protocols for cellular standards to modem architecture and modem operation.

Intel will retain the ability to develop modems for non-smartphone applications, such as PCs, internet-of-things devices, and autonomous vehicles.

Last week, Intel admitted that it sold its smartphone modem business to Apple at "a multi-billion dollar loss," according to court documents unearthed by Reuters. Intel added that rival chipmaker Qualcomm's patent licensing practices "strangled competition" and effectively forced it to exit the market.

Apple is expected to use Qualcomm modems for its first 5G-enabled iPhones next year, as part of a six-year licensing agreement between the companies. Farther down the road, multiple reports have claimed that Apple plans to develop its own modems for iPhones by 2022-23, and this Intel deal would certainly help those efforts.

Tags: Intel, Qualcomm

Popular Stories

Qualcomm Announces Renewed Agreement With Apple

Thursday September 24, 2026 6:39 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Qualcomm today announced the renewal of its global patent licensing agreement with Apple, effective April 1, 2027. No further details were provided. This patent agreement is separate from Qualcomm's agreement to supply Apple with cellular modems for smartphone launches through 2026, so we expect Apple's transition to its own custom-designed modems to continue. Among the latest iPhone models, ...

• 54 comments

Apple Drops Intel Macs From Magic Mouse/Trackpad Compatibility Lists

Wednesday October 7, 2026 5:47 am PDT by Joe Rossignol

Apple updated its Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad product pages around August 25 to drop all Intel-based Macs from the compatibility lists for the accessories, and this week it updated some related tech specs pages to reflect these changes. Given the Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad still work with Intel Macs, it is unclear why the accessories are now considered to be compatible with Apple...

• 51 comments

Here's What Apple's Apps Look Like on the iPhone Duo

Tuesday October 20, 2026 11:12 am PDT by Juli Clover

With just three days to go until the iPhone Duo is released, Apple is getting ready for the launch. Behind the scenes, the App Store now has screenshots of Apple's built-in apps running on the Duo. We've seen some apps in marketing materials, but images of the ones we haven't seen give us an idea of what it will be like using the iPhone Duo day to day. Many apps are shown in landscape...

• 116 comments

Top Rated Comments

mannyvel

90 months ago

On the other hand, building a cutting edge modem requires making calculated calls on where the industry will move and having deep knowledge of the relevant standards, and any non-standard enhancements, that would allow interoperability with carrier equipment. Since Apple doesn't build carrier equipment, they will likely always be trailing the competition.

The wireless standards track is well-known by all the players, and there aren't really that many choices you have to make. And Apple has some experience being on the cutting edge of wireless: they were the first vendor to ship 802.11. And in any case the standards are, well, standards. No equipment vendor in their right mind wouldn't allow Apple into their interoperability labs.

The real question, though, is if it's really worth it for Apple to be in the modem business at all. That business relies on economies of scale and a lot of engineering and wireless expertise.

I'd guess the goal is to do what it did with Bluetooth and the W1, making the modem low-power. Radios are a big power draw, and I doubt Qualcomm or Intel were willing to make a power/performance tradeoff. At some point that could become yet another competitive advantage for Apple.

I mean, they could probably save a bunch of power just by optimizing the modem's software stack. Most of those modems are driven using the Hayes AT command set, which means you need some kind of serial emulator. Apple could rip out that interface layer and go direct to the modem, which would make it more efficient, which should lead to better power/performance.

If they did it for BT/WiFi they should be able to do it for LTE/5G/6G and beyond.

Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)