Apple, Qualcomm in Fatal Attraction

Rick Merritt, EETimes
8/22/2018 00:01 AM EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. — So far, Intel has reaped relatively small but strategic wins as a key supplier for Apple. The story could start to shift in the next year.

Today, Apple uses Intel’s Core processors in its Macintosh computers and its LTE basebands in its iPhones and iPads. Long term, both design wins could unravel.

“If there’s any lesson learned by its suppliers, it’s that Apple is a risk because Apple wants to own every element of the ecosystem that it can, any IP that it can get to create its own solutions,” said veteran Apple watcher Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. “In the end, Apple wants to control its entire supply chain to drive its designs and profitability.”

The Intel/Apple relationship began in 2006, when Intel’s CEO was the surprise guest of Steve Jobs at an Apple event where he announced that Macintosh computers were moving from the Power PC to the x86. The Apple business didn’t significantly impact Intel’s already dominant position in PCs, but it opened a big door for Apple.

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