Apple may have written a check and signed a deal with Qualcomm in order to ensure a 5G iPhone wasn’t late to market, but it’s clear the Cupertino hardware giant wasn’t interested in burying the hatchet too deep.

Apple is in “advanced talks” to buy Intel’s smartphone modem business for “$1 billion or more” according the a new report in The Wall Street Journal. Last month, The Information detailed that Apple was in talks to buy part of Intel’s modem business.

Exclusive: Intel launches blockbuster auction for its mobile portfolio
https://www.iam-media.com/patents/exclusive-intel-launches-blockbuster-auction-its-mobile-portfolio

In what looks set to become one of the highest profile patent sales in years, Intel has put its IP relating to cellular wireless connectivity on the auction block. The company is seeking to divest around 8,500 assets from its massive portfolio.

The news comes as the chip giant searches for a buyer for its 5G smartphone modem business having announced in April that it was pulling out of the market. That was after as it had become increasingly clear that the company, which has been the supplier of 4G modem chips to Apple for the last few years, was struggling to release a 5G product even though the rollout of the next generation of mobile technology is well underway.

The auction offering is comprised of two parts: the cellular portfolio and a connected device portfolio. The former includes approximately 6,000 patent assets related to 3G, 4G and 5G cellular standards and an additional 1,700 assets that read on wireless implementation technologies.

President Trump has, for instance, called for a US national champion in 5G and so it will be interesting to see how the US government reacts should an overseas company – and particularly one from China such as Huawei – emerges as the most likely buyer of the portfolio.

Intel says Apple and Qualcomm’s surprise settlement pushed it to exit mobile 5G
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/25/18516830/intel-apple-qualcomm-surprise-settlement-pushed-exit-mobile-5g-modems

Apple Held Talks With Intel About Buying Its Smartphone-Modem Chip Business
Talks have cooled and Intel plans to seek out other buyers
https://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-discussed-acquiring-intels-smartphone-modem-chip-business-11556303497

Apple and Qualcomm announced that they have dropped all litigation in a multi-billion-dollar patent licensing dispute that has dragged on for more than two years across courts in China, Germany, and the U.S. However, the sketchy details of the settlement leave many unanswered questions.

Under the deal, Apple will pay Qualcomm an undisclosed fee. Qualcomm will give Apple a six-year license to its patents with an option for a two-year extension. It also signed a multi-year chip supply agreement with Apple.

The tech industry talks about the values of openness and collaboration, but it thrives on secrecy and self-interest, as the recent mobile shenanigans of Apple, Intel, and Qualcomm show.

The patent disputes between Apple and Qualcomm opened a door to what the two companies and their handset and chipset rivals were doing. Court documents revealed details of their strategies and deals.

In this sunshine, we learned that Qualcomm was charging 5% of the value of a handset in exchange for a license to its 130,000 patents. We learned that Huawei’s objections to the costs drove a regulatory process in China that hammered the fees down to about 3.5% for handsets sold there.

The stock surge showcases just how surprising the resolution is

Intel and Apple stock were largely unaffected by the news.

Intel promises to continue to meet current customer commitments for its existing 4G smartphone modem product lines, but it no longer expects to launch 5G modem products in the smartphone space, including those originally planned for launch in 2020.