It’s been long rumored that Intel will be supplying at least a share of the LTE and Wi-Fi modems for the upcoming iPhone 7 handsets. Existing supplier Qualcomm is expected to continue to supply a good portion of the modems also. A new report by Bloomberg sheds some light on how the orders will be portioned out to both suppliers.
The report indicates Intel will supply the modems for AT&T models of the new iPhone, along with some versions of the device to be sold in other countries. Qualcomm will continue to supply the modems for Verizon handsets, along with those destined for all Chinese models.
A May report indicated Intel would supply up to 50% of the modem chips used by Apple in the upcoming iPhone 7 lineup. Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf has previously hinted that his company would be losing modem orders from one of its largest customers. Luckily for Qualcomm, and Mollenkamp, they are apparently holding onto a large piece of Apple’s modem business after all.
Apple is rumored to be using Intel’s 7360 LTE modem chips, which are said to be much faster than current LTE chips, offering theoretical downlink speeds up to 450 Mbps, uplink speeds up to 100 Mbps, and support for LTE category 10 and 29 LTE bands.
This all means iPhone 7 users could enjoy much improved speeds when using an LTE connection for browsing the web, downloading songs and videos, and more. The Qualcomm MDM9635 chipset currently used in the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, which provides theoretical downlink speeds up to 300 Mbps and uplink speeds up to 50 Mbps. However, Apple may use Qualcomm’s X12 modem in the Verizon iPhone 7 models, which has theoretical download speeds up to 600 Mbps and upload speeds up to 150 Mbps.
No matter which modem winds up in the iPhone you buy come fall, you’ll likely see much improved download and upload speeds over current speeds. Your mileage may vary.
