Apple in talks to buy Intel smartphone chip unit

Apple is reportedly in advanced talks to buy assets from Intel's modem chip business. The deal, valued at $1 billion or more, could be reached in the next week.

This deal could potentially bring Apple hundreds of engineers and key patents from Intel that would likely allow them to build out some of the technologies they are currently licensing from Qualcomm for their cell network-connected mobile devices.

For those who are wondering why Intel is looking to offload their modem business, this came on the heels of the company announcing that they would be halting development on its 5G modem. The company was originally supposed to supply 5G modems to Apple, but this was later cancelled when Apple and Qualcomm settled their lawsuit with each other, thus allowing Apple to source from Qualcomm again.

A deal with Intel could be similar to Apple's agreement to pay Dialog Semiconductor Plc $600 million to take over its power management business, the provider of another key component for Apple’s devices. Intel currently provides modems for Apple's 4G LTE iPhones.

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