Apple bid farewell to Qualcomm and began to use self-developed baseband next year, and the mobile phone signal problem is expected to be cured

In the mobile phone industry, Qualcomm has a unique position, not only because they can produce mobile phone chips, but also because they have some patents that cover the basic principles of mobile communication, so that mobile phone manufacturers need to pay a certain patent fee to Qualcomm when manufacturing and purchasing chips.

Of course, not all mobile phone manufacturers are willing to bow to Qualcomm, such as Apple.

Beginning in 2017, Apple launched antitrust and other lawsuits against Qualcomm worldwide, during which time Apple also began to switch to the baseband provided by Intel. However, since then, the iPhone's signal has become a big problem, and even the user can't scan the code when paying.

In 2019, Apple and Qualcomm reached a settlement agreement, and Apple began to reuse Qualcomm's baseband. However, the signal problem still exists, and Apple's determination to "de-qualcommize" is rekindled.

Recently, according to supply chain news, Apple's self-developed 5G chip and supporting RF IC have completed the design and begun trial production, which is expected to be installed on the iPhone 15 series in 2023. It is understood that these products are all manufactured using TSMC's process.

After the news of Apple's self-developed base belt, the stock prices of Related Suppliers such as Qualcomm and Sijiaxun have declined.

It's no secret that Apple wants to develop its own baseband.

In July 2019, shortly after reaching a settlement with Qualcomm, Apple acquired Intel's mobile phone baseband chip division for $1 billion, and through this acquisition, Apple mastered more than 8,500 patents related to cellular technology. Qualcomm also previously expected that only 20% of the iPhones produced in 2023 will take the baseband provided by Qualcomm.

In recent years, Apple's self-developed products have rarely disappointed, and it is hoped that the self-developed baseband can also solve the signal of the iPhone for many years. However, from another point of view, this also seems to mean that the new iPhone products to be launched this year will not improve much in signal performance.