The senior engineer who oversaw the development of modems for the iPhone and iPad has left Apple

Apple and the mobile modem segment have been very busy in the past few weeks. First, we learned that the exclusive supplier of 5G modems for the next iPhones is unlikely to make the delivery on schedule. Shortly after, Apple surprisingly reconciled with its arch-rival Qualcomm, only for Intel to announce its exit from the mobile 5G market hours later. Yesterday, another part of the mosaic fit into the puzzle, which, however, makes the whole picture even more incomprehensible.

Last night, information appeared on the web that the long-time leader of the team in charge of the development of mobile data modems has left Apple. For many years, Rubén Caballero was the senior manager of the hardware section for the development of mobile modems. He is most famous for the "Antennagate" iPhone 4 case. However, he worked on cellular modems for iPhones (and then iPads) long before that.

He joined Apple in 2005 and his name appears on more than a hundred different patents that relate to mobile data, modems and data chips, and wireless technologies. According to internal sources, he was at the forefront of Apple's efforts to come up with its own 5G modem for its future iPhones. Therefore, this move is very special, as it may indicate future developments in the industry.

It is not very common for the person who practically leads and sets the direction to leave the project. Due to Caballero's departure, it is possible that even thanks to the renewed relations with Qualcomm, Apple has abandoned the effort to develop its own 5G modem. However, it is also possible that the reason for Caballero's departure is much simpler - perhaps he just wants a change of scenery. In recent months, Apple has significantly restructured the data modem development team. Neither Apple nor Caballero himself refused to comment on the situation.

Source: Macrumors