You don't get it. Apple is not the dominant 5G supplier, not that the phrase even means anything. Qualcomm will be the dominant 5G supplier because it supplies a large part of the industry and, through its own claims, will be supplying more than twice as many 5G modems as it supplies to Apple to the rest of the industry. Without QC, Apple still wouldn't have ANY 5G modem to use.
Uhm, but Apple does have QC, don't they, so shoulda, coulda, woulda, doesn't matter. You keep gaming this as a "What if Apple didn't get the Qualcomm 5G modem". What the link was about, is Apple's growing sales share of 5G capable smartphones, with Apple having the largest share. Qualcomm is obviously happy that Apple is using its modem, and that will continue for couple of upgrade cycles. After that, Apple is expected to deliver its own 5G modem.
More to the point, Apple is noted to have settled for about $4.5B and likely some ongoing large licensing fee. Given the "super cycle", Apple has likely recouped that cost already.
Nothing changes the facts, as they have been estimated. If it is estimated that QC could ship 500 million 5G modems in 2021. That rules out Apple as the 'dominant' supplier. And it does so to the tune of hundreds of millions.
"Apple does have Qualcomm". That is meaninglessness. However, some might say it is Qualcomm in fact, that has Apple!
Given that my original comment was a response to this,
"A miscalculation on Apple’s part that cost them dearly"
I'm not seeing how, by any measure, it "cost them dearly", given the ASP, Margins, revenue, and profits, that the iPhone generates for Apple. It was, in fact, a last resort deal that is paying off handsomely for both parties, especially when you consider that additional some 30 million iPhones that will be sold this year, for a total that is estimated to be some 230 million units.
There may have been a short span of time when Huawei sold more units than Apple, but it appears that Apple is back, firmly entrenched in the number two position for units sales.
I am not so sure about the bolded part - i.e. Apple moving 230 million units in this year. Some of reports that I read point to reduction in overall smartphone shipments in 2020 Vs 2019. No one can be so sure that the trend would reverse in 2021 with the pandemic still going on. Holiday quarter results will probably give a good idea on whether the iPhone shipment trend is going to be FLAT for yet another year or will be different and show an increasing trend for 2021.
That's fair to be concerned, but the indications of a large sales increase for the iPhone are still there.
More to the point, Avon b7 argues that 5G is of such huge importance to the customer, and the data so far is proving him right about that, At the same time, Avon b7 wants to argue that Apple has made a huge blunder in its 5G choices, especially the choice of the "bolt on X55 modem", which is absolutely false, again based on data. The customer doesn't seem to care at all.
I kinda agree with you. Most of the people do not care who won and how much dollars (millions/billions) were part of the settlement on the Apple Vs Qualcomm spat. It is a matter between Apple and Qualcomm and as long as they are happy with what they got, most of the others simply do not care. The arguments around that part is purely academic in nature and do not mean much in the larger picture.
And Apple has got the timing right for 5G iphones, though I don't agree with their decision to not include mm wave feature in rest of the world and keep it US only. No one seems to care about that for now. But people who hold on to their phones for 3+ years will feel the pinch later.
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And Apple has got the timing right for 5G iphones, though I don't agree with their decision to not include mm wave feature in rest of the world and keep it US only. No one seems to care about that for now. But people who hold on to their phones for 3+ years will feel the pinch later.