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Thanks, Apple: Intel will auction off smartphone modem patents, exit industry
June 20, 2025
Back in April,Apple announcedthat it would cease all litigation against chip manufacturerQualcommand enter a new partnership with the company that will see Qualcomm modems installed in new crops of iPhones.
On that same day,Intel announcedit was exiting the smartphone modem business entirely. Now, according toIAM, Intel is going one step further and auctioning off many of its smartphone modem assets.
This information appears to suggest thatwithout Apple as a partner, Intel has no need for its patents surrounding smartphone modems at all.
According toIAM, the Intel auction will see some 8,500 patents up for sale to the highest bidder.
There will be two parts to the auction: the cellular portfolio and a connected device portfolio. The cellular portfolio includes around 6,000 patents related to 3G, 4G, and 5G standards. There are also around 1,700 assets related to wireless implementation technologies.
The connected device portfolio is made up of 500 patents that could apply to a wide variety of electronics industries.
Despite the size of the auction, Intel is still planning to retain assets related to networking, specifically 5G networking. Although the company plans to exit the smartphone modem business, it will still have a presence in the overall 5G market.
Certain Apple iPhones come with Intel modems installed, which are seen as substandard as compared to Qualcomm’s. Although Apple is working on developingits own in-house modems, it needs something to tide it over through the launch of 5G smartphones. Previous reports indicated that Intel was not meeting Apple’s standards, which resulted in Apple dropping its legal fights with Qualcomm and switching providers.
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