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martyb writes:

Intel Quits 5G Modem Business Hours after Apple Settles with Qualcomm:

Intel says it is canceling a line of smartphone 5G chips that had been slated for 2020 launches. The announcement comes on the same day Apple announced a wide-ranging settlement with Qualcomm over patent issues.

Qualcomm has long been a dominant player in the wireless chip business for smartphones. Apple worries about becoming too dependent on a single supplier. So in recent years, Apple has encouraged Intel to expand its wireless chip offerings and offered Intel a significant share of its business for 4G chips in the iPhone.

Then last year, as Apple's legal battle with Qualcomm heated up, Intel became Apple's sole supplier for 4G wireless chips in the iPhone. Intel additionally was working to develop 5G chips for Apple to use in future versions of the iPhone. But recent reports have indicated that Intel was "missing deadlines" for the wireless chip that was slated to go into the 2020 model of the iPhone.

[...] If Intel had failed to provide Apple with 5G chips in a timely manner, that would have put Apple in an untenable position. The iPhone's competitors would be able to offer 5G capabilities using Qualcomm chips, while Qualcomm could have denied Apple access to 5G chips as long as the patent battle continued.

[...] Still, it's not clear whether Apple's settlement with Qualcomm forced Intel to leave the 5G market or whether Intel's impending exit from the 5G market forced Apple to settle with Qualcomm. It's likely that the causation ran a bit in both directions.

There are other handset makers as well as other kinds of devices that would use 5G so I would be surprised if Intel gave up entirely on the market.

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