Your next iPhone may be slower than Android phones

Apple seems to be making big changes to its next iPhones' chips – and that could mean that your next iPhone is downloading data more slowly than competing Android devices.

Qualcomm, a leading supplier of 4G chips for smartphones, on "We believe that Apple intends to only use our competitors' modems rather than our modems in its next iPhone version" said Wednesday George Davis the chief financial officer of Qualcomm. an income call with analysts .

Cristiano Amon, the head of Qualcomm 's chip business, noted that this did not mean that Qualcomm had lost Apple' s business forever, but that 's for the sake of business. moment

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its 5G chips, the download speeds of the iPhone …

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"It's a very dynamic industry," he said when calling the results. "If the opportunity arises, I think we will be a supplier of Apple."

Apple and Qualcomm have been competing for patents since the beginning of 2017. Qualcomm previously provided all modems for iPhones, but Apple now uses Intel's 4G chips in about half of its phones , especially those running on the AT & T and T-Mobile networks. The move has given Apple more weight in its battle with Qualcomm, but it has been criticized for hurting consumers by limiting their network speeds.

Qualcomm did not say which company will provide modems for the next iPhone, but it is believed that it is Intel.

Apple's apparent decision to source from a single vendor could have big implications for your next iPhone. Returning to a chip vendor could make it more difficult for Apple to meet demand for its upcoming iPhones, which means you'll have to wait even longer to get your hands on a new device. And speed tests have shown that Qualcomm smartphones are capable of faster network speeds than devices running on Intel processors. "Qualcomm will be the best performing 4G and 5G modem for a long time so now it's [sic] time for Android," said Shrout Research analyst Ryan Shrout who tweeted

Apple and Intel refuse to comment on Qualcomm's remarks

Legal spat

Qualcomm, the world's leading mobile chip provider, has created a technology that is essential for connecting phones to cellular networks. significant share of its revenues from licensing these inventions to hundreds of device manufacturers, with charges based on the value of the phone and not on the components.Because Qualcomm has patents related to 3G phones and 4G – as well as other features like software – all phone makers building a device that connects to new networks have to pay license fees, even if they're not. Do not use Qualcomm chips

This includes Apple. The Cupertino, California-based giant manufactures its own application processor – the brain of the iPhone – but relies on third-party chips for network connectivity. Since the iPhone 4S in 2011, the supplier of these chips was Qualcomm. Because only Qualcomm designed high-end modems, he had more power when it comes to the relationship.

Apple in January 2017 sued Qualcomm, saying that it should pay a fee based solely on the value of Qualcomm's connectivity chips, not all the device. He says that Qualcomm "effectively taxes Apple's innovation" and that "Apple" should not have to pay for technological breakthroughs that have nothing to do with. "

Qualcomm responds that its technology is much more than just connectivity. It's also multimedia, imagery, GPS and countless other inventions that make a phone a phone. Without its technology, Qualcomm says that the iPhone would not be possible.

Slower speeds?

With the launch of 1945 iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Apple began using Intel chips in some versions of the iPhone, namely models running on the AT & T and T-Mobile networks. The Verizon and Sprint versions still used Qualcomm processors. Apple has pursued this strategy with the iPhone 8 iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X from last year, and Qualcomm has already stated that Apple should take the same turn as this year. Phones. This turned out not to be the case.

Qualcomm accused Apple of deliberately slowing down the speeds of Qualcomm iPhones to match Intel device speeds. While Intel has made progress in speeding up its modems, it is still lagging behind Qualcomm in speed tests.

A Speedtest application manufacturer's report, Ookla, showed earlier this week that Android phones using Qualcomm modems were faster than Intel phones – iPhones – on the same networks. On T-Mobile, for example, Android smartphones using Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 downloaded data 53% faster than phones using Intel's XMM 7480 chip and 68% faster than the XMM 7360 modem. 39; Intel. "Overall, the cellular performance of Android smartphones based on the Snapdragon 845 has exceeded Intel devices in every measured measure," Qualcomm said Monday in a blog post

Analysts expect it to what his speed advantage on Intel continues. The first devices using Qualcomm's 5G chips – probably mobile hotspots – will hit the market later this year, followed by phones early next year. Intel does not expect its 5G chips to power the phones until the middle of 2019 .

First published July 25 at 14:12 PT
Update at 15:15. PT : Adds general information and additional comments.
Update at 16:01 PT: Adds Apple refusing to comment.

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