iPhone 8 it is Intel's chance to show the whole world that it is capable of producing modems at least as good as the Qualcomm company, after it failed with the iPhone 7. You probably know that a third of the iPhone 7 terminals have Intel modems, but they are inferior , in terms of performance, those of Qualcomm, but things could change for the iPhone 8.
Information published today suggests that Intel will supply half of the modems used in the iPhone 8, a 20 percent increase in its contribution to the manufacturing of the terminal. Qualcomm lost to Intel in participating with modems in the manufacture of iPhone 8 because of the legal problems it has with Apple and its partners.
We do not yet know which Intel modem will end up in the iPhone 8, but the hope is that regardless of the model, it will be closer to the Qualcomm ones in terms of performance. Intel needs very good performance results for the cellular connectivity of the iPhone 8, otherwise it risks losing orders from Apple, even if there are big problems with those from Qualcomm.
iPhone 8 – Intel takes advantage of the problems between Apple and Qualcomm
Without knowing what kind of performance the new Intel modems for iPhone 8 will have, analysts believe that for the 2018 model Intel will supply 70% of the modems. This estimate is most likely based on the fact that the problems between Apple and Qualcomm are just beginning, so iPhone 8 is only a turning point, not the end of growth for Intel.
Those from Intel could have lower prices charged for the modems that will end up in the iPhone 8, but probably Qualcomm was forced to sell cheaper as well. The problem with Intel at the moment is that they cannot cover the entire need for modems for the iPhone 8, otherwise Apple would have completely given up on Qualcomm.
"However, instead of a drop, Apple's outsourcing proportion to Intel for the next-generation iPhone baseband chips has risen to about 50% for orders running through the end of 2017 due to the lawsuit between Qualcomm and Apple. Since both Qualcomm and Apple are unwilling to give in to make peace, some market watchers believe Apple is likely to shift even more baseband chip orders away from Qualcomm with Intel to supply over 70% of the baseband products for iPhones by 2018."
Remaining without Apple as a customer, Qualcomm could have halved revenues, considering that it receives the most money from the Americans at the moment. Qualcomm also has other customers, but apart from Samsung, which only buys part of the modems from Qualcomm, no one comes close to Apple in terms of sales.
