Although it is a reasonable assumption to expect that Apple will, once again, use Intel's cellular modems in the upcoming iPhone 7s/7s Plus, investors shouldn't take such things -- especially when Apple is involved -- for granted.
At this point, Apple has likely finalized its component supply deals for the next generation iPhone. Intel, as well as the other players in Apple's supply chain, likely know their standing in the next iPhone. If Intel weren't in the device (or at least had a strong suspicion that it wouldn't be), then I'd expect the company to warn investors ahead of time.
- 1.jpg (37.68 KiB) Viewed 3586 times
Unless something goes seriously wrong with Intel's upcoming modem, known as the XMM 7480, it's a pretty safe bet that Intel will be inside yet another generation of iPhone.
That's obviously good news for Intel, as it should not only benefit from the ramp-up of the next generation iPhone models, but Intel will be able to gain share because the iPhone 7/7 Plus should become Apple's mid-range product line. Intel isn't inside Apple's current mid-range product line -- the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus -- so this is upside for Intel.
And, of course, when Intel wins at Apple, it happens at the expense of Qualcomm's own stand-alone modem business. Unlike Intel's wireless chip business, Qualcomm's smartphone chip business doesn't heavily depend on Apple (Qualcomm supplies chips to a wide range of phone vendors, large and small), so this share loss -- though clearly not desirable from Qualcomm's point of view -- isn't going to be a game changer either way.