American multinational technology company, Intel is reportedly working on Apple’s next-generation LTE modem.
The team responsible for integrating the Intel 7360 LTE modem chip into what will inevitably become the iPhone 7 may be as large as 1,000 people.
Intel is working to potentially oust Qualcomm and its 9X45 LTE chip as the go-to modem for Apple’s handsets.
Apple-made system-on-a-chip, or SOC, similar to the Ax chip found in current iPhones, yet capable of holding both the processor and the LTE modem on a single small, fast, and power efficient component.
Apple would likely license Intel’s technology and brand the SOC in line with its Ax series of chips, the report says.
The partnership with Intel, which has its own seemingly superior fabrication methods, would give Apple an opportunity to bring more of its chip design and manufacturing in-house while cutting off other companies it’s been forced to work with thus far.
The German semiconductor company supplied the iPhone with 3G modems before it was acquired by Intel in 2011 and Apple made Qualcomm its modem supplier.
