“We expect Intel to be the exclusive supplier of baseband chip for 2H18 new iPhone models, while Qualcomm may not have a share of the orders at all,” says Kuo.

Recently Apple has been splitting the orders between Intel and Qualcomm but the legal battle with Qualcomm gives Apple a reason to dump Qualcomm as a supplier.

If Qualcomm subsequently tries to get back the business then it can be made conditional on Qualcomm making concessions in the lawsuit.

The Intel midem which Apple may be using exclusively is the XMM 7560 modem which supports 4×4 MIMO technology.

The iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X have 2×2 MIMO technology.