Apple to acquire Intel’s smartphone modem business

Apple has signed a deal with Intel to acquire the majority of the latter’s smartphone modem business for $1 billion as per the latest tech acquisition news.

Apple to build its own modem with the acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem business

The acquisition of the smartphone modem business will enable Apple to develop its own modem IP rather than using Intel’s or Qualcomm’s.

Under the deal, the American multinational technology company will acquire Intel’s intellectual property, equipment, and leases, apart from around 2,200 employees.

Apple to build its own modem with acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem business. Photo courtesy of Joe Ravi/Wikipedia (CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Johny Srouji – senior vice president of Apple Hardware Technologies, commenting on the acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem business, said: “We’ve worked with Intel for many years and know this team shares Apple’s passion for designing technologies that deliver the world’s best experiences for our users.

“Apple is excited to have so many excellent engineers join our growing cellular technologies group, and know they’ll thrive in Apple’s creative and dynamic environment. They, together with our significant acquisition of innovative IP, will help expedite our development on future products and allow Apple to further differentiate moving forward.”

However, Intel will retain the right to develop modems for non-smartphone applications such as PCs, autonomous vehicles and internet-of-things devices.

Intel CEO Bob Swan, commenting on the sale of the smartphone modem business, said: “This agreement enables us to focus on developing technology for the 5G network while retaining critical intellectual property and modem technology that our team has created.

“We’re looking forward to putting our full effort into 5G where it most closely aligns with the needs of our global customer base, including network operators, telecommunications equipment manufacturers and cloud service providers.”

With the acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem business, Apple’s wireless technology patents surpass the 17,000 mark, ranging from protocols for cellular standards to modem architecture and modem operation.

Subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions, Apple acquisition of the smartphone modem business from Intel is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2019.