Gathering micro-messages, Apple was blown out today and released a position as a 'millimeter wave IC design engineer' second. According to the job description, Apple seems to be intending to abandon the use of wireless chips manufactured by Qualcomm, and is also likely to be in the future iPhone Discarding Intel's processor on the phone.
In this quickly deleted recruitment announcement, Apple wrote: "Finding the core of the chip design team", specifically the "millimeter wave integrated circuit design engineer", with a Ph.D. and perfect help to design the next generation of iPhone for the next generation 5G Modem. Job responsibilities: Work with platform architects, system teams, and digital design teams to determine millimeter-wave phased front-end and baseband module requirements based on product requirements; work with technical teams and foundries to perform process assessments for target devices. Selection. In addition, the job description also mentions that it involves bringing 'functional products to hundreds of millions of consumers', and that Apple currently has no other product line of such an order. In the first quarter of 2018, Apple A total of 77 million iPhone devices were sold, and the number of Macs sold at the same time was only 5 million.
This recruitment notice shows that for next-generation 5G networks, especially millimeter-wave networks, Apple is trying to develop its own chips. Millimeter-wave networks can provide higher bandwidth than current LTE networks. It is also equivalent to Apple’s official confirmation that it plans to independently develop 5G baseband chips. Replaces products offered by Qualcomm or Intel. Apple has not commented on this yet.
5G is undoubtedly an exciting technology. Since last May, Apple has been testing millimeter wave technology in Cupertino, Calif., and has also joined the industry organization of 5G technology. Last week, the FCC announced a number of applications, including Apple is seeking permission to launch new RF tests in the 'Innovation Zone' of Apple Park headquarters and 1 Infini Loop campus.
These applications are related to the new FCC regulatory requirements. This provision allows companies like Apple to experiment with mobile communications technologies without completing a lot of regulatory procedures. The 2018 application mentions the 'gigahertz' band. Apple previously applied for testing. The frequency bands are 28GHz and 39GHz, respectively.
According to reports, since May 2017 until now, Apple has been testing millimeter wave technology after obtaining permission from the Federal Communications Commission, and recently applied for testing equipment in the 'gigahertz' band. Millimeter waves will only eventually include unfinished One of the many technologies of the 5G standard, but the millimeter wave can reach the data transmission rate that is difficult to reach in the current mobile network.
Although the technology is still not mature enough. On the one hand, the millimeter wave cannot travel too far away. On the other hand, the millimeter wave is difficult to circumvent obstacles in the propagation path relative to the current frequency band. However, Apple scientists and researchers are likely to Having learned these deficiencies. If Apple can develop key next-generation technologies and get rid of a legal enemy at the same time, why not try it?
The relationship between Apple and Intel, Qualcomm
The contradiction between Apple and Qualcomm has been long-standing. In the second half of 2016, Apple changed its years of practice. iPhone baseband orders were no longer handled by Qualcomm, and Intel and Qualcomm jointly received orders. Later, they continued to spread their own news that they wanted to develop baseband chips. Even if Apple is not in legal trouble with Qualcomm, the company may also wish to have its own 5G technology. Apple CEO Cook has said that Apple hopes to have all the core technologies, including the chips currently provided by Qualcomm.
KGI’s renowned analyst Guo Mingyi predicted that the iPhone’s baseband chips will be dominated by Intel in the second half of the year. Although Apple is interested in getting rid of its dependence on Qualcomm, Intel’s progress has not been smooth, and it has so far been unable to produce 10 nanometer chips on schedule. XMM 7660 It may not be able to ship on schedule. The report pointed out that Intel's baseband chip line has encountered a bottleneck, and the yield rate is not as good as expected. Only 50% is in the lead. Although Intel is confident that it can improve this summer, Apple apparently does not want to take this risk. According to Cult of According to a report on the Mac website, Apple may only hire one person to cooperate with Intel to develop a future wireless chip.
However, the cooperation between Apple and Intel is obviously not so solid. Last month, the media disclosed that Apple plans to abandon the use of Intel processors on future Mac notebooks by 2020 and use its own ARM-based processors. According to reports, under the leadership of chief executive Cook, Apple's long-term plan is to "own and master" the company's equipment after the main technology, which also means that the company will give up a large number of suppliers for the production of Apple's suppliers.
Qualcomm, the company recently decided to expand the use of its low-cost licensing model for the next generation of mobile data networks, decided that the base of patent licensing fees was reduced to $ 400 in some areas, and even the licensing fees for Samsung have also been reduced. A move will help ease the tension between the two major customers, including iPhone maker Apple. It is reported that Qualcomm also hopes to reach a settlement with Apple before the end of 2018, from which it is not difficult to find that there is a trace of high-pass to Apple. The company has signs of compromise.
Due to disputes over Apple’s patented technology licensing fees last year, Qualcomm’s revenue from technology licensing fees was significantly affected. At the same time, Apple’s use of Intel’s baseband chips was substantially adopted last year. Although Qualcomm has repeatedly stressed that it has not been affected by the deterioration of Apple’s relationship, it’s actually From the follow-up financial report performance can still be found due to the lack of authorized profit, so that Qualcomm's overall revenue changes.