Intel's modem 'a virtual certainty' to be in some iPhone 7s models, analyst says

Intel should finally throw in the towel on the mobile business if it can't score a deal to get its chips into a high-profile handset, according to Will Strauss of Forward Concepts. But the market research firm is confident the company's wares will make their way into at least some upcoming iPhones.

Intel turned down an offer from Apple ten years ago to supply chips for the device that would become the iPhone, and the company has continued to suffer from an inability to tap the mobile market ever since. It recently said it will slash as many as 12,000 jobs worldwide, marking 11 percent of its workforce, as it hones its focus on the cloud and the Internet of Things. But there's reason to believe that the company may be partnering with Apple to deploy its XMM7480, an LTE modem announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year and slated to come to market later this year or early in 2017.

"Without a major volume socket like the iPhone 7, there's no reason for Intel to continue in the cellphone business," Strauss wrote. "But, based on hints from Intel, Qualcomm and Apple's suppliers in both China and Taiwan, it's a virtual certainty that Intel will get its slim modem in some percentage of Apple's upcoming iPhone 7s." Report