Followed by Intel‘s announcement of exiting the 5G modem chip market for iPhones, Apple had to settle with Qualcomm to provide 5G modem chip for its 2020 iPhones. However, it was not known that Samsung will also be proving chips to the Cupertino-based company.
It was reported that Apple had held talks with Samsung and MediaTek following its legal battle with Qualcomm that had rendered the iPhone maker unable to have 5G compatible phone in the market.
Now, after the lawsuit with Qualcomm has settled, Apple is looking for a second supplier and it will most likely be Samsung, according to a report from Ming-Chi Kuo. Apple is taking this step to ensure some leverage when negotiating the price and also to lower its dependency on a single supplier. 2020 iPhones could ship with both Qualcomm and Samsung chips.
This also confirms that the 2019 iPhones will not be 5G enabled, however, this should not affect the sale of the smartphones since it is still a long way before 5G is available to masses. Ming-Chi Kuo believes the availability of 5G support on iPhones will boost the sales significantly in 2020.
Between 2011 and 2016, Apple relied on San-Diego based telecommunication equipment company Qualcomm as the sole supplier of its chips, which helps the iPhones in connecting to a wireless network. Starting in 2016, Apple also started a partnership with Intel for mobile chips. In 2018, Apple moved solely to Intel for the modems.
By 2016, Apple introduced Intel chips to some of its devices while still getting supplies from Qualcomm. Although Apple’s lawsuit against Qualcomm in 2017 changed their partnership “in a very profound and negative manner” and the iPhone maker had to rely on Intel’s modems for phones released last year.
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