iPhone 7 Plus Qualcomm LTE Modem Significantly Outperforms Intel LTE Modem, Study Finds (macrumors.com) 44
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Mac Rumors: With the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, Apple elected to use LTE modems from two different sources, Qualcomm and Intel. The A1778 and A1784 iPhone models use a GSM-only Intel XMM7360 modem while the A1660 and 1661 iPhone models use a GSM/CDMA-compatible Qualcomm MDM9645M modem. Apple's decision has already caused some disappointment among customers because the GSM-only Intel modem is not compatible with as many carrier networks as the GSM/CDMA Qualcomm modem, and now independent testing conducted by Cellular Insights suggests there are some significant performance differences between the two modems, with the Qualcomm modem outperforming the Intel modem. Using an RS TS7124 RF Shielded Box, two RS CMW500, one RS CMWC controller, and four Vivaldi antennas, Cellular Insights created a setup to simulate LTE performance at different distances from a cellular tower using two iPhone 7 Plus devices, one with an Intel modem and one with a Qualcomm modem. The goal of the test was to measure the highest achievable LTE throughput starting at a Reference Signal Received Quality of -85dBm (a strong signal) and gradually reducing the power level to simulate moving away from a cellular tower where signal is weaker. Three LTE bands were tested: Band 12, Band 4 (the most common band in North America), and Band 7. In all three tests, both the iPhone 7 Plus models offered similar performance in ideal conditions, but as power levels decreased, Cellular Insights saw "unexplainable sharp dips in performance" in the Intel modem, finding a gap "north of 30%" in favor of the Qualcomm iPhone 7 Plus. In the charts, the Qualcomm modem maintains noticeably higher throughput speeds than the Intel modem as signal strength decreases. According to Cellular Insights, in every single test, the iPhone 7 Plus with a Qualcomm modem "had a significant performance edge" over the iPhone 7 Plus with an Intel modem.
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He's actually correct, but the vise in question is actually a fairly complicated device. It is housed within a box that maintains an ideal 73 degree fahrenheit temperature, for the comfort of the baby, and before the baby's skull is crushed, a doctor administers an injection that is composed of 50% capsaicin, and 50% ephedrine, so that the baby feels barely anything at all. This is considered by many to be acceptable, and your dislike of the procedure suggests that you are an ignorant motherfucker. You prob
Supplier contracts. (Score:1)
This is going to fall on the shoulders of Intel.
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given antennagate and all the shit before then, i dont doubt for one second that apple tested how exactly these modem perform and decided they are satisfactory.
if there is a public outcry though apple will blame intel of course (they'd be stupid not to - and being ethical is not trendy these days)
Re: Supplier contracts. (Score:2)
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Not a bad idea. If one is a Verizon or Sprint customer, one knows for a fact that s/he has the Qualcomm modem phone rather than the Intel one. If one is w/ AT&T or T-Mo, it could be either.
If Intel's chipsets supported the same features as Qualcomm, then Verizon or Sprint wouldn't be more limited w/ their supplies than AT&T or T-Mo, and there would presumably be less of a price pressure on them
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Intel did try to license the tech. Qualcom refused.
It was touch and go inside Intel's mobile groups for quite a long time after it was clear that WiDi lost and LTE was the winner. Trying to engineer around the Qualcom patents is what likely lead to this.
Intel knows the performance is lacking.
That it works at all is better than where they were this time last year.
-nb
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Still Catching Up (Score:5, Interesting)
It looks like Intel is still playing catch up in the modem space. Interestingly, it looks like for the 2016 iPhone, Apple is using either the Intel XMM 7360 or the Qualcomm X12. Both of these modems were released in 2015. Qualcomm hasn't shipped a new generation since then, but Intel did release the XMM 7480 in February. It would be interesting to see how much progress Intel has made in a year.
Either way, the fact that Intel's modem exists is good for everyone... except Qualcomm. Without it, Qualcomm would be the only LTE modem supplier. There is no doubt Apple is aware of the Intel modem's shortcomings. My guess is Apple is willing to turn a blind eye to that for the "1st gen" product and use the new revenue as a carrot to get Intel to direct its engineering efforts to the features that Apple wants, probably stuff like CDMA for example.
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Actually not only did Qualcomm announce a follow-on to the X12, which is called the X16 modem, it's already shipping it: http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/10/17/13306814/qualcomm-gigabit-5g-x16-x50-modem
Oh and it does gigabit speed. Yeah. Intel's follow-on 7480 is still capped at 450, just like their 7360. So two generations behind with no progress on performance, and half the speed of the competitive Qualcomm modem.
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If Apple knew the Intel chipset was inferior and chose to sell it anyway, why is there no rhyme or reason to which of the models each of the carriers use? Surely the 2nd rate one would only go to carriers who want cheaper phones in exchange for compromised performance? Ins
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Re: Still Catching Up (Score:2)
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Where in my comment did I mention any of them, let alone suggesting they should get one or the other.
HINT: I've worked as a senior engineer for one of those companies...
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Except they don't, as I already explained in my comment you're replying to.
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The carriers that need CDMA (MetroPCS and Cricket both piggyback on Sprint/Verizon) get the Qualcomm modem. The ones that only need GSM get the Intel modem.
Without having to support CDMA, the cost of the modem likely is lower. Qualcomm themselves own the patents to CDMA but others would have to pay a licensing fee to make a CDMA chip, which would increase the cost of their modem solution.
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Congratulations on making a complete and total fool of yourself...
Re:Still Catching Up (Score:5, Informative)
It looks like Intel is still playing catch up in the modem space. Interestingly, it looks like for the 2016 iPhone, Apple is using either the Intel XMM 7360 or the Qualcomm X12. Both of these modems were released in 2015. Qualcomm hasn't shipped a new generation since then, but Intel did release the XMM 7480 in February. It would be interesting to see how much progress Intel has made in a year.
Either way, the fact that Intel's modem exists is good for everyone... except Qualcomm. Without it, Qualcomm would be the only LTE modem supplier. There is no doubt Apple is aware of the Intel modem's shortcomings. My guess is Apple is willing to turn a blind eye to that for the "1st gen" product and use the new revenue as a carrot to get Intel to direct its engineering efforts to the features that Apple wants, probably stuff like CDMA for example.
Not only did Apple know, but there were public discussions about it the very same day that they announced the iPhone 7. I don't have the links in front of me, but some people on Reddit did a very technical overview of the differences between the two modems. the TL;DR version of the story (assuming my memory serves me correctly) is that the Qualcomm chip can handle 4 LTE bands at once and the Intel only two or some such thing. To my knowledge, no cellular network provides speeds that the Qualcomm version of the iPhone 7 can take advantage of that the Intel version cannot. Not to say that will change, but this test is all theoretical anyway. It's lab based.
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Actually, assuming both parts have sim
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Either way, the fact that Intel's modem exists is good for everyone...
...except their customers. :)
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I have a theory that what Apple really wants is to integrate the modem into their SoC (integrated modems are more power efficient). But Qualcomm weren't willing to give Apple access to their IP, so then they got talking to Intel and Intel was more flexible. In other words, the iPhone 7 is a field test for the Intel modem, in the next version it'll be integrated.
Shocked (Score:2)
Who exactly is surprised by this?
Last-link syndrome (Score:2)
Somewhat off-topic, but why is it that in Slashdot summaries, the link to the actual source is usually the very last link in the entire summary?
So? (Score:2)
LTE is already pretty darn fast, so losing a little performance isn't going to make that big of a deal. It's not as if you can torrent to your hearts content without killing your cell phone bill.
What I *really* want to know, is if the Intel chip has a comparatively lower power draw compared to the qualcomm. Getting more battery life is of much more value to me than needing to wait one additional second to download that new kitten video everyone is raving about.
The issue isn't (just) speed - it's (also) range. (Score:2)
LTE is already pretty darn fast, so losing a little performance isn't going to make that big of a deal. It's not as if you can torrent to your hearts content without killing your cell phone bill.
The issue isn't just speed. It's also range.
At any given speed, the Qualcom can support it at substantially lower signal levels. 6ish dB in a lot of cases, a bit less in some, enormously more in others.
Look at the graphs in TFA. In addition to some specific pathologies that penalize the Intel chip farther, the bu