How the Next Apple Inc. iPhone Will Help Fill Intel Corp.'s Factories

With the iPhone 7-series smartphones, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) chose to source cellular modems from two vendors -- longtime iPhone modem supplier Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM), and microprocessor giant Intel (NASDAQ: INTC).

Most chipmakers, including Qualcomm, are fabless, meaning they design their own chips but let third parties manufacture them. But Intel is an integrated device manufacturer, meaning it both designs and manufactures the chips it sells. The modem chips Intel sold to Apple in support of the iPhone 7-series smartphones, as well as the new iPhone 8-series and iPhone X smartphones, don't come from Intel but were built by a third party; however, the Intel modem that's expected to power at least some of next year's iPhones, known as the XMM 7560, is expected to be built by Intel using its 14nm technology.

Image source: Intel.

Source: Fool.com