BARCELONA—Intel's new 7560 modem, the first that could really challenge Qualcomm's place in Apple's global iPhones, doesn't scare Qualcomm CDMA Technologies president Cristiano Amon.
"We are in a competitive environment today," Amon said, pointing out that there are modems challenging Qualcomm's core technologies on the market in China. "We have been quite successful there in spite of having a CDMA alternative from the competition."
Intel's 7560, announced last week, is the company's first modem to support the CDMA networks that Sprint and Verizon require. In the iPhone 7 generation, Apple switched to Intel modems for its AT&T/T-Mobile and European models, leaving Qualcomm in the Verizon/Sprint, Chinese, and Japanese units. This year, Intel didn't make a modem compatible with Verizon, Sprint, or certain Chinese networks, but I'd been wondering why Apple picked Qualcomm for Japan.
Amon pointed out how Qualcomm's modem strength isn't just about which radio types it supports.
"When you think about the vectors of differentiation, there's size ... only in our board do you have board space to put the Japanese [payment card] for trains. Our chip's much smaller," he said.
Qualcomm's level of overall integration also differentiates it from competitors, Amon said. The company this week announced a partnership with TDK on "RF front end," the technologies that amplify and process signals coming into a chipset. With Qualcomm integrating its own GPS, its own RF front end, and its own power amplifiers, it's able to create smaller, more efficient chips than others, Amon argued.
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Amon also suggested that global manufacturers—unnamed, of course—should turn to Qualcomm because that would allow them to create one phone that can be sold on any carrier, anywhere.
"One of the things we have ... is the ability to support all modes in a single SKU ... so you don't have to keep specific inventory on a per-carrier basis," he said.
I must make clear: the words "Apple" and "iPhone" never came up in this conversation. Apple is currently suing Qualcomm for a billion dollars out of rage over Qualcomm's license fee structure.