Intel has reportedly secured orders for a ‘significant portion’ of iPhone 7 cellular modems

iPhone 5se iPhone 7 concept Curved image 002

Chip giant Intel has secured orders for a “significant portion” of cellular modems on Apple’s upcoming iPhone 7, according to a note CLSA Securities analyst Srini Pajjuri sent to clients, a copy of which was obtained by NDTV.

The current iPhone 6s generation uses Qualcomm’s MDM9635M LTE Cat. 6 cellular modem and the previous-generation iPhone 6 series is outfitted with Qualcomm’s MDM9625M modem so if this particular analyst is right, Qualcomm is set to lose some serious money should Apple dual-source cellular modems for the next iPhone.

That wouldn’t be unheard of.

The iPhone 6s series uses the Apple-designed A9 processor which is manufactured by both TSMC and Samsung, for example. While Pajjuri was quick to point out that Apple isn’t looking to completely cut its reliance on Qualcomm, he estimated that Intel will supply about 30 to 40 percent of the iPhone 7’s cellular modems.

That, in turn, could result in a four percent negative impact and a two percent negative impact on earnings. “Intel, on the other hand, will see a 1.5 to two percent increase in its revenue and earnings,” reads the article.

The analyst also believes that Apple will “share shift back” to Qualcomm in 2017.

DigiTimes back in August 2015 said that Intel might provide some of the modem chips for 2017 iPhones. Venture Beat corroborated that report, saying Intel has allocated more than a thousand engineers toward developing chips for the iPhone.

Source: NDTV