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Samsung Didn’t Want To “Help” Apple. So Apple Built A Modem To Replace Them All.

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Samsung Didn’t Want To “Help” Apple. So Apple Built A Modem To Replace Them All.

Apple’s deal with Qualcomm for its modems might never have happened. Apparently, Apple was in talks with Samsung to use their modems in the iPhone, until a Samsung executive, Jung Hyun Ho, killed the deal. Apparently, he did not want the deal to happen because he didn’t want Samsung “aiding a competitor”.

That’s pretty rich, considering the majority of iPhone components come from Samsung, like the display and even DRAM.

The tipster who brought this to life calls Hyun Ho one of Samsung’s worst executives. Because this forced Apple to rely on Qualcomm, and gave Apple motivation to develop its own 5G modem. Which inadvertently caused Apple to buy Intel’s mobile chip business back in 2020. This is what created the Apple C1 modem that debuted in the iPhone 16e earlier this year.

Another issue for Samsung was the fact that they would not be able to manufacture enough 5G modems for Apple, in the time they wanted. Keep in mind, when it comes to components with the iPhone, Apple needs to source a good 100 million or more just for the launch of the new iPhone. This is a big reason why they are late to new technologies like AOD, OLED, and 120Hz.

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Apple and Qualcomm have a complicated history

While Apple has been a major customer for Qualcomm for decades now, it hasn’t always been a great relationship. In 2019, the two resolved a royalty dispute, where Qualcomm was charging Apple royalties to use the products it had already sold to Apple. For those unaware, Qualcomm charges customers to buy their processors and other components, and then you have to pay royalties to use those components. Which Apple took offense to, but not in the way you’d expect.

Apple was upset with the royalties because Qualcomm was basing them on the entire device price, versus just the modem. This is because Apple was using its own chipset with a Qualcomm modem, and not a Qualcomm chipset like a lot of the other Android OEMs do.

Apple’s current deal with Qualcomm for its 5G modems is set to expire in 2027. Analysts are expecting about 20% of iPhones in this upcoming cycle to use an in-house modem from Apple, with that number jumping to 70% next year. Likely meaning that Apple is looking to get rid of Qualcomm altogether.

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