Intel’s new 5G modem might power Apple’s first 5G iPhones

“2019 is shaping up to be a big year for 5G, and Intel — one of tech’s biggest mobile players — has finally announced its plans for the next-generation network in the form of its new XMM 8160 5G modem,” Chaim Gartenberg reports for The Verge. “The XMM 8160 modem is set to be released to manufacturers sometime in the second half of 2019, with the first devices using the chip coming in early 2020.”

“Intel may have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to getting companies to actually use its 5G modem, though. Currently, at least 18 major companies… are working with Qualcomm and its Snapdragon X50 5G NR modems. Huawei and Samsung are both also working on their own in-house 5G modems, too,” Gartenberg reports. “The interesting outlier here, though, is Apple: the company recently switched to using Intel modems exclusively for its 2018 iPhone XS and XR phones (specifically, Intel’s XMM 7560 modem). And Apple is reportedly planning on sticking with Intel’s chips for whenever it does make the jump the 5G. That is said to be with its 2020 iPhone models…”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Makes perfect sense given Apple’s contentious relationship with Qualcomm.

Sleep tight, Qualcomm, ye greedy bastages.

SEE ALSO:
Intel says 5G plans for Apple iPhone are unchanged – July 6, 2018
Intel working with Apple to bring super-fast 5G to future iPhones – November 17, 2017

3 Comments

  1. As far as I can tell, 5G is basically WiFi. It achieves WiFi speeds by only having WiFi range. It’s another way for companies to own something that they didn’t really create, so they can charge you for what you already have.

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