News about Apple's own modem crashed Qualcomm shares

Apple has begun developing its own cellular modem, according to Bloomberg. As it is set to replace components from Qualcomm, the main chip supplier for the iPhone, the company's stock tumbled 6.3%.

According to sources familiar with the situation, the start of work on the modem was announced by senior vice president of hardware technology Johnny Srugi during a meeting with employees.

Srugi noted that Apple's $1 billion purchase of Intel's modem business in 2019 helped the corporation assemble a team of hardware and software engineers for its own developments. When it is planned to introduce native modems into cellular devices is still unknown, but the latest iPhones with 5G modems still use Qualcomm chips.

• The companies have a turbulent history of relationships with an extensive patent war that at one time reduced their capitalization by a quarter. You can read about it in detail here . The licensing agreement between Apple and Qualcomm, which runs until 2025, is considered a victory for the latter: Apple has pledged to purchase its chips for 5G.

• Apple is gradually moving to its own chips. In November, for the first time, it introduced new Mac computers with processors of its own production - M1 ARM processors - instead of Intel products.