“Bloomberg reported that Apple was intentionally throttling the performance of the Qualcomm modem chip inside some versions of the iPhone 7, in order to make it more similar to the Intel chip it was using in some other versions of the phone,” Ina Fried reports for Recode. “That’s true, at least according to sources I talked to.”
“Apple supposedly did this for a simple reason: It wanted the cost savings and flexibility of having two chip sources but also wanted the different versions of the phone to be as similar as possible (to avoid angering AT&T and T-Mobile and their customers in the U.S., for example),” Fried reports. “The result is that the modem in the Verizon/Sprint version of the phone, while just as good and perhaps a bit better than the one in the AT&T/T-Mobile version, is technically not fully living up to its potential.”
“Apple is clearly valuing its own cost savings and supply chain flexibility over peak performance. Had it wanted the greatest speed and compatibility, it could have just used Qualcomm’s chip across all the models,” Fried reports. “Apple is clearly valuing its own cost savings and supply chain flexibility over peak performance. Had it wanted the greatest speed and compatibility, it could have just used Qualcomm’s chip across all the models.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: So, Apple has chosen to benefit themselves (getting multiple modem suppliers to drive down cost, even if one is markedly inferior) at the expense of their iPhone customers who, if they all had superior Qualcomm modems inside their iPhones, would be getting nearly twice the Mbps than they are now.
In a nutshell: Apple has chosen to maximize their potential profits over delighting their customers, making the following statements sound like utter bullshit:
• We’re very simple people at Apple. We focus on making the world’s best products and enriching people’s lives. — Tim Cook
• I want you to be confident that Apple is not going to change. I cherish and celebrate Apple’s unique principles and values. Steve built a company and culture that is unlike any other in the world and we are going to stay true to that — it is in our DNA. We are going to continue to make the best products in the world that delight our customers and make our employees incredibly proud of what they do. — Tim Cook
In this case, Tim, we’re certainly not delighted and Apple employees should not be incredibly proud.
We’d consider jailbreaking our Qualcomm-equipped iPhone 7/Plus units, if that would allow us to unshackle the modems, allowing them to deliver their full capabilities instead of being retarded in a ill-conceived attempt to match the inferior Intel modems found in AT&T/T-Mobile iPhone 7/Plus versions.
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s modem choices may leave Verizon iPhone users feeling throttled – November 18, 2016
Tests show iPhone 7 Plus models with Qualcomm modem perform significantly better than those with Intel modem – October 20, 2016
How to find out if your iPhone 6s or 6s Plus has the good TSMC or crappy Samsung chip – October 9, 2015
Apple may have made a huge mistake in having Samsung stamp inferior A9 chips – October 9, 2015
Analyzing Apple’s statement on TSMC- and Samsung-stamped A9 chips – October 9, 2015
Apple claims iPhone 6s/Plus’ A9 battery performance only varies 2-3% between TSMC and Samsung variants in ‘real-world usage’ – October 8, 2015
Chipgate: Did you get the good A9 or the crap A9 in your iPhone 6s/Plus? – October 8, 2015
Samsung stole trade secrets from TSMC to win Apple A9 stamping deal – August 26, 2015
TSMC sues former ex-employee over leaking trade secrets to Samsung – February 9, 2015
TSMC overtakes Samsung in FinFET, confident they will land Apple A9 orders – October 7, 2014