“For a long time iPhones were one-size-fits-all-networks phones, but the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus each come in two different versions (or SKUs, in industry-speak), one with an Intel modem chip inside and one with a Qualcomm modem,” Mark Sullivan reports for Fast Company. “The Intel 7630 modem doesn’t work with Sprint’s and Verizon’s 3G CDMA networks, so all Sprint and Verizon customers will get an iPhone 7 with a Qualcomm chip inside. For everyone else, the iPhone 7 could have either an Intel or a Qualcomm modem.”
“Having more than one iPhone SKU complicates things a bit for Apple, it has good reason for doing it,” Sullivan reports. “Dual-sourcing the modems in the iPhone 7 also give Apple the leverage it likes over its suppliers. That applies not only to component prices but also to timeframes, quantity numbers, and the level of customization of the produce being delivered.”
Sullivan reports, “But there’s way more to it… Intel has been working with Apple for the past few years to guide the development of the 7360. By October 2015 Intel had at least a 1,000 people working on this failure-not-an-option project. In fact, Intel, my source said, is willing to put as many people to work on the Apple project as it takes to keep the whole thing afloat and meeting deadlines… For Intel, a big design win with the most popular phone on earth is a pretty nice way to make a dramatic re-entrance in the mobile chip business.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: This is a win-win for Apple. When Apple says “jump,” Intel asks “how high?”
iPhone 7 model support info:
Model A1660 and Model A1661 support:
• FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
• TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)
• TD-SCDMA 1900 (F), 2000 (A)
• CDMA EV-DO Rev. A (800, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)Model A1778 and Model A1784 support:
• FDD-LTE (Bands 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
• TD-LTE (Bands 38, 39, 40, 41)
• UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1700/2100, 1900, 2100 MHz)
• GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
Note: Models A1778 and A1784 do not support CDMA networks, such as those used by Verizon and Sprint.All models support:
• 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi‑Fi with MIMO
• Bluetooth 4.2 wireless technology
• NFCSEE ALSO:
Intel supplying wireless chips in some Apple iPhone 7 models – September 9, 2016
Intel may have started shipping XMM 7360 to Apple – July 22, 2016
Analyst: Intel beats Qualcomm to supply 50% of Apple iPhone 7 units – July 11, 2016
Some versions of Apple’s iPhone 7 will use Intel chips; Intel gets first mobile win – June 10, 2016
Apple’s potential switch for key iPhone component hits Qualcomm – April 21, 2016
More evidence that Apple is building its own modem – March 19, 2015
Intel axes 12,000 employees, 11% of its workforce – April 19, 2016
After eating Intel’s mobile lunch, Apple could next devour Qualcomm’s Baseband Processor business – January 20, 2015
Intel has 1,000 people working on chips for Apple iPhone – October 17, 2015