APRIL 2020 MACWORLD 37modem in the first place.
A smaller, more efficient
modem would help Apple
keep the iPhone thin without
sacrificing battery life.
There’s also the issue of
the antenna. A recent
report from Fast Company
(go.macworld.com/fcrp)
detailed Apple’s efforts to
design its own antenna for
the iPhone 12 after rejecting
the QTM525 5G mmWave
antenna module Qualcomm
currently makes due to its
size. But a new antenna is
on the way with the X60 modem, which
“features a more compact design than the
previous generation which allows for
thinner, sleeker smartphones.”
If that’s not a direct response to Apple,
I don’t know what is. Qualcomm wouldn’t
even divulge exactly how much smaller
the QTM535 modem is “for competitive
reasons,” which basically a professional
“nyah nyah nyah-nyah nyah” to Apple.
Qualcomm wants Apple to know that its
antenna won’t be as good.
So even if the new modem and
antenna aren’t ready for the iPhone 12—
Qualcomm was relatively vague about a
timeline, only saying “commercial premium
smartphones” using the new modem
system are “expected in early 2021”—
Qualcomm is putting tremendous pressure
on Apple to deliver a system that’s better
than the X60, lest we have another
Antennagate (go.macworld.com/agte) on
our hands.
So while Apple may be hard at work at
a homegrown 5G solution for the iPhone
and iPad, Qualcomm isn’t going to let the
biggest premium phone maker get away
that easily. With the X60 modem,
Qualcomm isn’t just cementing its lead as
the 5G supplier on Android phones, it’s
also looking to lock up the iPhone for the
foreseeable future. Sure, Samsung
cares about thinness and battery life,
but only Apple has the wherewithal to
walk away. And Qualcomm doesn’t want
that to happen. ■With the X60 modem, Qualcomm is looking to lock up the
iPhone for the foreseeable future.