Apple hopes to launch its own 5G modem by 2022, boosted by the Intel operations it bought earlier this year for USD 1 billion, Fast Company reported, citing a source with knowledge of the company’s plan. Apple declined to comment on the story. For the moment, Apple gets its iPhone modems from Qualcomm, which will provide modems for the first 5G iPhones next year, but the two companies have a complicated relationship. Also, Apple hopes to create a “system on a chip” design, where an Intel modem would be integrated into a single chip with Apple applications processor and other chips. This would increase modem speeds and power efficiency.
According to the source, the 5G modem development push is being led by Esin Terzioglu, a former Qualcomm executive who joined Apple in 2017 and who will be based in San Diego.
Apple last year announced plans to open an office in San Diego and hire up to 1,000 new employees there over the coming years, a further expansion from its current headquarters in Cupertino, California.
