After rumors that Apple is preparing to drop Intel processors from future Macs, the chipmaker is reportedly set to lose even more business from Apple. The Cupertino firm is said to have told Intel that 2020 iPhones will not use the 5G modem on which Intel has now halted development.
This revelation comes from the Israeli website CTech by Calcalist, which claims to have reviewed “internal company communications” and consulted “people familiar with the matter”.
Intel was working on an iPhone-destined 5G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth component codenamed “Sunny Peak”. However, in the communications, Intel execs said that Intel mobile modems will be omitted from 2020 mobile devices by Apple, which Intel had forecast as Sunny Peak’s “main volume driver”.
The executives suggested that Apple’s decision was affected by “many factors”. A new, fast Wi-Fi standard, WiGig (802.11ad), poses “new and unanticipated challenges”, they claimed.
However, an Intel spokesman batted away a Calcalist request for comment, citing a company policy of not commenting on matters relating to its customers.
As recently as November 2017, Apple was reportedly closely collaborating with Intel to bring a 5G-ready iPhone to fruition. However, Intel employees working on Sunny Peak will now be shifted to other efforts, according to the executives mentioned by Calcalist.
