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Apple currently relies on chipsets from Qualcomm to power its flagship iPhone handsets
Apple is in talks to buy the smartphone chipset manufacturing wing of US tech giant Intel, in a deal worth a reported $1 billion.
Sources familiar with the matter told reporters at The Wall Street Journal that talks were now at an advanced stage.
The deal would allow Apple to follow the lead of its Chinese rival Huawei and start making its own chipsets in house to power its flagship smartphones.
Apple currently uses Qualcomm’s chipsets in its iPhone handsets but a protracted and expensive legal battle over intellectual property rights has soured relations between the two companies.
At the height of its legal dispute with Qualcomm between 2016-2018, Apple switched to using Intel’s chipsets in its smartphone handsets.
Intel’s chipset manufacturing wing has been the subject of long running interest from Apple. The WSJ reported last year that Apple was considering making a move for the business but talks broke down once Apple had resolved its dispute with Qualcomm.
This time around, talks are at a far more advanced stage and a deal could be announced later this week.
Also in the news:
Qualcomm fined €242m by Europe’s top anti-trust regulator
