And there’s more interesting news today…about Apple buying Intel’s modem division:
Rolling their own is very likely to be extremely cost-effective for Apple, making their profit margins a whole lot bigger. And Apple has always been aggressive in scooping up intellectual property and top talent, which also gives them independence from third parties.
Apple has a long history of acquiring companies for their patents, production systems, and talent. Samsung and Huawei make their own modems and processors in house, and it makes a lot of sense for Apple to do the same. It will improve profit margins and ensure they have the exact equipment necessary to build the hardware and software they want and deliver within shorter deadlines. I’m sure Apple isn’t happy that Samsung, Huawei and probably every other Android mobile device manufacturers will be releasing 5G phones way before Apple will be able to:
https://siliconangle.com/2019/04/04/samsung-mass-producing-5g-modem-chips-wont-sell-apple/
It makes a lot of sense for Apple to roll its own processors and modems.