After she announced she was going there were two stories circulating. The first was that Evans had been asked to go for failing to get Intel’s latest modem under the bonnet of the iPhone in any huge numbers. The other suggested that Intel CEO Brian Krzanich was "scrambling to get Evans to change her mind."

It looks like the conspiracy theories were penned by those who see Apple as the only important technology customer out there and that it really was about Krzanich making  Evans an offer she could not refuse.

It is not clear how Krzanich did it, probably huge amounts of money were involved, but Evans has rescinded her resignation.

The move is being seen as Intel making it clear that it clear that it will continues to pursue the market for cellular modems. The rationale is that, over the longer-term, computing devices will need to offer robust connectivity in addition to excellent computing power.

Intel has argued that cellular connectivity will play an increasingly important role in a broad range of computing devices, ranging from smartphones to various Internet of Things devices. It is also important to show Intel staff who are not one the 12,000 who the outfit is firing, that it wants to keep top staff.

However Evans has to make Intel's wireless efforts pay off. To do that it needs to show that it can consistently field competitive products into the marketplace and build customer trust. It also needs some sales successes under its belt.

Of course Apple is not the only fruit here, although that is pretty high-profile. But it needs to be seen under the bonnet of the likes of Samsung and LG before anyone will take it seriously.