14 DAY TRIAL // Apple announced today in a press release that it has signed an agreement with Intel to acquire the majority of its smartphone modem business for $1 billion US dollars.
It's finally official, Apple wants to acquire the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business, along with more than 2,200 Intel employees, intellectual property, equipment, and leases, in an attempt to manufacture modems for future iPhone devices. The transaction will cost Apple no less than $1 billion US dollars and it is expected to close sometime in the fourth quarter of 2019 if everything goes well.
"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," said Johny Srouji, Apple's senior vice president of Hardware Technologies. "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."
Apple to hold more than 17,000 wireless technology patents
Apple will not take over the entire smartphone modem business from Intel, which will still be able to create modems for non-smartphone products, such as personal computers, autonomous vehicles, and IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Once the transaction is complete, Apple will hold more than 17,000 wireless technology patents, which range from modem operation and architecture to protocols for cellular standards.
Intel says that they want to sell the smartphone modem business because they want to focus more on their future projects involving 5G technologies for cloud service providers, network operators, and telecommunications equipment manufacturers. "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," said Intel CEO Bob Swan.