On April 8, it was reported by foreign media that analysts of UBS said that Intel's 5G baseband (modem) could not be used in time for Apple's iPhone launched in 2020. Apple could have purchased 5G baseband from Qualcomm, but these two companies have been in patent litigation recently. In addition, it was reported that Qualcomm refused to sell 4G baseband of iPhone XS and iPhone XR to Apple.
According to foreign media reports, a source said that Intel missed the deadline when developing the XMM 8160 5G baseband. In order for Apple to launch the 5G iPhone in September 2020, Intel must deliver 5G baseband samples to Apple early this summer and the final version early next year.
In November last year, Intel said that it would start selling the XMM 8160 5G baseband in the second half of this year. In a recent statement to the media, Intel said: "As we said in November 2018, Intel plans to launch the XMM 8160 5G multi-mode baseband in 2020 to support the release of customer devices."
From 2011 to 2015, Apple only used Qualcomm's baseband on the iPhone, while in 2016 and 2017, the iPhone used both Qualcomm and Intel's baseband. Last year, Apple and Qualcomm sued each other, and Apple insisted on cooperating with Intel, which should be the same this year.
It is reported that the XMM 8160 5G baseband will use an updated manufacturing process, possibly a 10nm process, while the Intel 7560 baseband equipped with the 2018 iPhone uses a 14nm process, which means that the new baseband has stronger performance and lower power consumption.
Samsung, MediaTek and other chip manufacturers are obviously not considered by Apple. It is reported that Apple has 1000 to 1200 engineers developing their own 5G baseband. The rumors before seem true. However, even if Apple can develop its own 5G baseband, it still needs Samsung or TSMC OEM. The iPhone equipped with Apple's self-developed 5G baseband will not be released until 2021 at the earliest.
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