Content of the article aside, I think these business publications are running out of thesaurus entries for clickbait titles. I wouldn’t consider it a “spectacular failure” that Apple could not finish a modem in time for the iPhone 15 launch, especially considering the smashing success that they’ve had pushing out Intel and making some of the most popular consumer electronics on the market.
Apple should eventually find success in going vertical with the modem, and when that happens, Qualcomm will learn what being difficult costs.