A new report today from KGI shares projections that the 2018 iPhones will include significantly faster baseband chips from Intel and Qualcomm, although Intel will be the main supplier.
The most forecast from KGI predicts that 70%-80% of the improved baseband chips for 2018 iPhone models will come from Intel. This isn’t surprising news given the recent history between Apple and Qualcomm. Most recently Qualcomm accused Apple of sharing confidential information with competitor Intel. This was after Qualcomm sought to ban iPhone sales in the US and China.
As for the new baseband chips, KGI doesn’t specify what kind of speed improvements we’re likely to see. These will be pre-5G wireless chips, but should give the new iPhones a significant speed increase with 4×4 MIMO technology compared to the current 2×2 MIMO chips used now.
KGI also reiterates the news that Apple is working on building its own baseband chips. This would help the company reduce iPhone costs. There could be a possibility of Apple partnering with MediaTek to gain access to baseband chip source code in its efforts to reduce reliance on vendors like Intel and Qualcomm.
Earlier this week KGI predicted that Apple’s 2018 iPhone lineup will include new 6.5-inch OLED and 6.1-inch LCD models alongside the current 5.8-inch form factor of the iPhone X.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments