As Juan Palomo said: I cook it, and I eat it. That is the philosophy of Apple. The last clear example has been the project (already a reality) Apple silicon. Macs already present and future will no longer have an Intel processor to mount their own.
Now the next step is to kick Qualcomm and build its own 5G modem chip. We do not know in what stage of development this modem is, but surely they will begin to be mounted in some new devices next year.
Apple is increasingly clear that it is not going to buy clothes in stores where all God goes to dress, and then find himself wearing the same shirt as his friend, or his enemy. His latest idea has been to design a suit at ARM and tell the TSMC tailor to cut it and sew it. And he has named it M1. And it has been a great success.
For years this designer and tailor has been making shirts for him, (the series A chips of the iPhones and iPads, how well it has given them), and other assorted accessories. And now it's the pants' turn. He has already tired of wearing jeans from the same brand, Qualcomm, and now he has set about designing exclusive ones that no one else can wear, and without a doubt he will achieve it.
Bloomberg just published an article where he explains that Apple is developing its own 5G modem chip, to the detriment of its current supplier of this component: Qualcomm.
Apple bought the entire modem section from Intel
Apple bought the entire modem chip division from Intel in 2019.
This does not take anyone by surprise. In mid-2019, Apple bought the entire section of Intel smartphone modems to speed up your own designs. Apple took over the intellectual property related to the modem from Intel and hired the 2.200 Intel employees who worked in that division of the American company.
At the time of the purchase, Apple reported that the Intel team would join Apple's telephony technologies group, and that the acquisition would "accelerate the development of future products." Apple ultimately aims to reduce its dependence on Qualcomm, the company that currently supplies its 5G modem chips.
Qualcomm saw it coming and secured a 6-year contract
Apple for several years was involved in a major patent dispute with Qualcomm, but when it did not arrive in time to manufacture its own 5G modems for the iPhone 12, Apple reached an agreement with Qualcomm and signed a multi-year license agreement.
Apple currently has a team of hardware and software engineers working on the development of a 5G modem chip, and will join other Apple-designed wireless chips such as the W-series chips in the Apple Watch and the U1 ultra-wideband chip that mount the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12.
So it all depends on the type of agreement that the two companies have signed, so that Apple's new 5G modem is soon a reality, or they have to wait for the agreement to end, or agree to compensation. It will be for money ...