Intel's XMM 7560 modem could find a home in the iPhone 8

Shawn Knight

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Intel has unveiled a new LTE modem that some believe could show up on the market as early as this fall in Apple’s iPhone 8.

Chipzilla says its new XMM 7560 modem is the first LTE modem to be manufactured on Intel’s 14nm process. A direct competitor to Qualcomm’s X16 chipset, the XMM 7560 supports LTE Advanced Pro with Category 16 theoretical download speeds of up to 1 Gbps and upload speeds of up to 225 Mbps.

The chip also supports up to 8x4 MIMO and thanks to Intel’s SMARTi 7 transceiver, supports up to 35 LTE bands so customers can build devices with global coverage leveraging just one SKU.

Qualcomm the other day took the wraps off its latest Gigabit LTE modem, the Snapdragon X20. That chip, a seemingly more advanced component with Category 18 theoretical download speeds of up to 1.2 Gbps built on a 10nm FinFET process, is currently being sampled to customers but won’t ship in consumer-facing products until at least mid-2018.

Intel’s fifth-generation LTE modem is to be sampled in the first half of this year and move into production shortly after, we’re told.

As PCMag points out, Apple has used Qualcomm chips in its mobile devices for years but is currently suing the company for around $1 billion regarding royalties charged for “technologies they have nothing to do with.” Apple’s lawsuit came shortly after the FTC filed suit against Qualcomm over unfair patent licensing practices last month.

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