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Intel’s solution for 5G laptops? Team up with MediaTek.
July 08, 2025
Intelmade headlines earlier this year when it decided tosell its mobile 5G businessto Apple, but said it was investigating the feasibility of its 4G and 5G business for PCs. Now, the company has announced it’s working withMediaTekto bring 5G to Intel-powered PCs.
The two chip designers confirmed that the 5G modem for Intel-powered PCs will be based “in part” on MediaTek’sHelio M70 modem(seen above), announced late last year and found in itsfirst 5G SoCfor mobile phones.
Interestingly enough, MediaTek’s Helio M70 modem only supports thesub-6GHzflavor of 5G right now. The Taiwanese chip designer toldAndroid Authoritythat a mmWave variant will be available in the future.
Speaking of availability, the first Intel-powered devices with MediaTek’s 5G modem are expected to launch in 2021.DellandHPare set to produce these laptops.
News of the move comes as Qualcomm presses on with itsAlways Connected PCinitiative, bringingSnapdragonsilicon and cellular connectivity to Windows laptops and hybrid PCs. And, with Qualcomm set to bring 5G to Windows laptops, it seems like Intel needed to bring some 5G heat of its own. Qualcomm teamed up with Lenovo for a5G laptopearlier this year, but the duo hinted at a 2020 launch date — still a year ahead of Intel and MediaTek.
Intel’s decision to sell its mobile 5G business (and over 2,000 employees) to Apple suggests that the company is abandoning its 5G work on PCs too. This means Intel might be with MediaTek for the long run, provided this first 5G modem turns out to be successful.
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