Qualcomm Inc. will continue to provide the modem chips for the “vast majority” of iPhones, including iPhone 15, in 2023.
Qualcomm Inc. will continue to supply the modem chips for the “vast majority” of iPhones in 2023, a turning point for a company that expected to lose the company to Apple Inc.’s proprietary components.
Qualcomm had planned to supply only about 20% of 5G modem parts for the iPhone 15 by 2023, but now expects to hold its current position, according to comments in Wednesday’s earnings report. The statement confirmed that Apple will not transition to its own in-house modem design for next year’s models.
Since Apple settled a lawsuit with Qualcomm in 2019 agreeing to use that company’s technology in iPhones for the foreseeable future, Apple has started building its own cellular modem, Bloomberg News reports. Apple’s chief of chip development told staff in 2020 that development of the part was underway.
But earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported that Apple’s efforts have been thwarted by overheating prototype versions of the modems, and that the company would not switch until 2024 at the earliest. Qualcomm continues to expect it to receive only minimal revenue contributions from Apple in fiscal 2025.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The delay offered little comfort to Qualcomm investors on Wednesday. The company is grappling with a broader decline in smartphone demand and delivered a much weaker-than-expected forecast. The stock fell a whopping 8.4% in late trading.
