“We expect Intel to be the exclusive supplier of baseband chip for 2H18 new iPhone models, while Qualcomm may not have a share of the orders at all,” says Kuo.
Recently Apple has been splitting the orders between Intel and Qualcomm but the legal battle with Qualcomm gives Apple a reason to dump Qualcomm as a supplier.
If Qualcomm subsequently tries to get back the business then it can be made conditional on Qualcomm making concessions in the lawsuit.
The Intel midem which Apple may be using exclusively is the XMM 7560 modem which supports 4×4 MIMO technology.
The iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X have 2×2 MIMO technology.
The 7560 is billed by Intel as having 1Gbps + download speed the same as the latest Qualcomm modem, SEPAM.
And what is the speed of the Intel modem vs. the unthrottled Qualcomm modem? The conflict must run unusually deep since Apple continued to buy from Samsung even though they had a major conflict.