Intel may have abandoned their smartphone 5G modem business but it appears not everyone feels it’s a dead market. Apple is reportedly in talks to purchase this from Intel for around $1 billion, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. Intel had made the decision to pull out of the lucrative 5G market after the company had come to a surprise settlement dispute with Qualcomm which would see Qualcomm once again returning to its phones, with Intel realising that without the Apple market share (by far their biggest customer) it wasn’t pursuing the business any further.
Intel then proceeded to look for a buyer for this side of their business who might be willing to make it work for them and it turns out that Apple themselves have proven to be the ones eager to buy it out. With Apple buying out the Intel 5G business, it makes it even more interesting for their current partnership with Qualcomm, it would mean Apple will be able to develop this technology in the future by themselves without the need for any 3rd party companies. This could likely threaten Qualcomm’s fortunes in the future as well, though they do have a market outside of the iPhone business too.
This sale would still be subject to the approval of the relevant regulatory bodies and so is in no way a done deal, but considering Apple doesn’t play in this space currently, there is a strong likelihood it could go through.
While many tech companies continue to find ways of working with each other, Apple continues to bring as much if its technology in-house as possible. It makes a lot of business sense for them, even if it does isolate them a little from the rest of the market. I guess though when you’re one of the largest companies in the world and have a loyal customer base that keeps buying your brand, why care?
Last Updated: July 23, 2019
