Oliver Haslam·

Apple Moves Closer To Taking Over Intel’s Modem Business For $1 Billion

Rumors of Apple’s interest in buying Intel’s cellular modem business aren’t new, but a new report by The Wall Street Journal adds further credence to that belief.

In fact, it goes so far as to claim that the deal between the two companies is so close that it could be announced as soon as next week.

The deal, if it goes ahead, will cost around $1 billion and will see Apple pick up Intel’s modem patents as well as people.

Intel announced in April that it would be pulling out of the consumer 5G mobile space. That move was a direct response to Apple signing a multi-year deal to use Qualcomm’s modems in future devices despite their ongoing legal battles. As part of that deal, those legal issues also went away.

With Apple being Intel’s biggest customer its move to Qualcomm chips meant that Intel’s modem business was dead and buried. The company immediately started looking to offload it and, according to The Wall Street Journal, it found a buyer in Apple.

(Image: 2019 iPhone 11 renders)

The iPhone maker has long been on a crusade to remove third-parties from its product roadmaps. It now designs its own CPUs in the form of the A-series ARM chips that are so powerful that iPhones and iPads outpace MacBooks. The ability to have complete control and integration of modems makes lots of sense, and Apple is said to be ready to spend a cool $1 billion for the privilege.

As far as deals making sense are concerned, this is definitely a deal that does.

You may also like to check out:

You can follow us on Twitter, or Instagram, and even like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple, and the Web.