While Apple uses its homegrown processors to power the iPhone, it relies on
modem chips from Qualcomm, especially in the U.S., where rivals don't support technologies used by Sprint and Verizon.
The dispute between the two companies broke out after Apple started using
modem chips from Intel (intc) in about half of new iPhones last year, instead of buying all its chips from Qualcomm.
Not exact matches
Apple doesn't appear to own the patents to make its own mobile
modem chips, an area in which it has increasingly been shifting
from Qualcomm (qcom) to
chips made by Intel in an effort to cut costs.
Apple has been buying
modems from Qualcomm, but it seems the
chip maker is being shunned in light of a series of recent lawsuits.
Aside
from the processors in its Macs, Apple also uses Intel's
modem chips in some iPhones.
From a Canadian perspective, the more significant improvement tied to the OnePlus 5's inclusion of the Snapdragon 835 is the accompanying
modem that's built into the new 10 - nanometer
chip.
Apple is already rumored to be working on its own
modem chips, some of which it already gets
from Intel.