Jacob Sonenshine for TheStreet:
Apple’s impending acquisition of Intel’s modem business has several key implications, one of which is not the best news for Qualcomm.
The deal, if it happens, would be a $1 billion buy Apple for the tech behemoth to use the modem’s to build out its 5G iPhone for 2020.
Apple is clearly “doubling down” on its 5G iPhone build out, as noted by WedBush Securities Dan Ives in a note… Qualcomm was losing more than 1%, falling to $75.04 a share in premarket trading, as Apple’s clear intent to use Intel’s modem’s likely means fewer purcahses of Qualcomm’s chips. ‘AAPL building its own modems would certainly weigh on future QCOM revenues, particularly given AAPL’s propensity to fully replace 3rd party suppliers when internal parts prove adequate,’ Ives said.
MacDailyNews Take: Eventually, the Qualcomm extortionist will pay for its myriad sins.
Apple should sell the modems to other phone makers just to screw Qualcomm.
There are a few reasons for this, but the big one is: Apple just wants to integrate the modem (and everything else they can) on the SoC for efficiency. They cannot do that by buying any chip (modem or not) from third-parties.