Apple and Qualcomm have legally settled their differences, but that doesn't mean they've suddenly become best friends. In effect, the settlement means that some of the strategies used by both sides during the lawsuit may now be made public. It was recently reported that Apple was preparing for a break with Qualcomm long before the actual spat, and now it has been revealed that the Cupertino company was also preparing for the collapse of Intel's 5G modem business.
It was surprising that Intel made the announcement to wind down its 5G activities immediately after Apple and Qualcomm announced they had reached an agreement. Intel's official position was that the new reality was making its modem business unprofitable. The decision was probably influenced by the fact that a few weeks before the announcement, the company lost a key engineer in charge of 5G modems.
The Telegraph reported that Umashankar Thyagarajan was hired by Apple in February, two months before settling disputes with Qualcomm. The hiring announcement was public, but then no one paid attention to it. It turns out that Mr. Tyagarajan was the key engineer for the Intel XMM 8160 communication chip and was reportedly instrumental in the development of Intel's modems for last year's iPhones.
This kind of brain drain is certainly not new in the industry, but it does shed some light on Apple's long-term plans. The iPhone maker turned to Intel fearing that Qualcomm would use its monopoly on 5G modems to dictate the terms of the negotiations. Now, however, Apple has other plans.
It's no secret that the company wants to build its own 5G modem, following on from its A-series SoCs. This will reduce the manufacturer's reliance on outside vendors like Qualcomm and allow it to take matters into its own hands. While neither Apple nor Intel have commented on exactly what Umashankar Thyagarajan will be doing at Apple, it's reasonable to assume that he will be working on 5G chips for future iPhones.
Source: 3dnews.ru