Apple poached Intel 5G leader weeks before switch to rival Qualcomm

Apple and Qualcomm logo
Apple announced a legal deal with Qualcomm which led Intel to drop its own 5G plans Credit: AFP

Apple poached the lead developer of Intel’s 5G smartphone technology just weeks before ditching the chipmaker for its key rival Qualcomm, according to a leaked email seen by The Telegraph.

The iPhone maker hired Umashankar Thyagarajan, who ran a major Intel project to build cellular modems for Apple, in February.

The raid came two months before Qualcomm and Apple reached a historic legal settlement. The Silicon Valley giants sealed a truce after a long patent war, which meant Apple agreed to use Qualcomm’s 5G modems instead of Intel’s.

Apple had been expected to be Intel’s main customer for the modems, and the loss of its key customer to Qualcomm forced it to abandon efforts to develop its own 5G modem.

Mr Thyagarajan’s departure is understood to have been a setback to Intel’s efforts, forcing the company to reshuffle the 5G project. Shortly afterwards, Intel said it would not be able to release a 5G smartphone chip until 2020, more than a year after Qualcomm.

According to an email sent to Intel staff, written by executives Messay Amerga and Abhay Joshi, Mr Thyagarajan had “played a key role” in the Intel chip that featured in last year’s iPhones and he had been the project engineer on developing its 5G chip, known as XMM 8160. 

Mr Thyagarajan’s appointment will add to rumours that Apple is planning to make its own smartphone modem instead of buying them from partners.

On Friday, it emerged that Apple had held talks about buying Intel's 5G cellular modem business, and that Intel is considering selling it.

The row with Qualcomm, only recently resolved, means that Apple will not be able to release a 5G smartphone until next year at the earliest, putting it behind rivals such as Samsung and Huawei.

This week Apple is expected to unveil a drop in profits and a second consecutive fall in iPhone sales when it delivers quarterly results.

Intel did not comment. Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

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