Technology companies have reached an exclusivity agreement until 2026. Find out what it was now!
Qualcomm announced this Monday (11) the closing of an agreement with Apple, for the use of 5G modem in cell phones from the American company during the years 2024, 2025 and 2026.
As a result, the launch of Apple's long-awaited 5G modem on the iPhone is unlikely to happen in the next three years. As a result, the launch is expected to take place from 2027 onwards, unless a new agreement is reached between the two companies.
Apple has been interested in moving away from its dependence on suppliers for a few years now, in favor of its own 5G connectivity modem, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The company currently relies on Qualcomm chips to implement its mobile phone technologies, and this should continue for at least the next three years.
Continue reading and learn more about this agreement between the two technology giants.
Qualcomm and Apple Agreement
At the moment, Apple uses Qualcomm's chips to implement the technologies in its iPhones. This Monday, Qualcomm announced that it has reached an exclusive agreement to use the 5G modem in the Apple company's cell phones during the years 2024, 2025 and 2026.
With this agreement, the launch of Apple's own 5G modem should take place later, without happening in the next 3 years, only for models launched in 2027 or after that.
In a statement, Qualcomm said the agreement reinforces the brand's history of sustained leadership in technologies and 5G products. In 2017, Apple sued Qualcomm for anticompetitive practices.
Years ago Apple tries to implement its own 5G modem on the iPhone.
The idea is to increase the company's autonomy and be able to control the entire manufacturing process, step by step, for greater integration with its hardware and software components, which was one of the main objectives of the purchase of Intel's modem division in 2019 for one billion dollars, the company's second largest acquisition.
Apple is currently Qualcomm's largest customer, and with the new deal, Qualcomm will have more assurance to attract other companies and avoid a major impact from losing Apple as a customer in the future.
Qualcomm is expected to still supply around 20% of the modems for the iPhone launch in 2026, which indicates that the first modem developed by Apple could arrive with the iPhone 18, in the same year.
Billion-dollar investment for the future
After Apple sued Qualcomm, Apple acquired Intel's modem division in 2019 to advance the development of its 5G modems and further distance itself from Qualcomm. This was the company's second-largest acquisition, behind only the purchase of Beats in 2014, for around three billion dollars.
Apple's modem is expected to guarantee better signal quality for more stable, secure and faster networks, consuming less energy and ensuring longer battery life on your cell phones.
There are no further details about Apple's 5G modem, but that should come in the coming months as the company invests in more research and development for the project.
