Kuo: Apple-Designed 5G Modem for iPhones to Debut in 2025
Apple plans to use its own modem chip for iPhones starting in 2025, according to information shared today by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He previously said the fourth-generation iPhone SE would be Apple's first device with the custom-designed 5G modem, but it's not entirely clear if this is still the plan anymore.
In July, it was reported that mass-production of the fourth-generation iPhone SE was delayed until 2025, so there is still a chance that it could be the first device with Apple's modem, but there have been conflicting rumors about the project.
Apple has reportedly been planning its own modem for over five years, and it acquired the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019. Based on the 2025 timeframe, iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models are expected to stick with Qualcomm modems. The switch to an Apple modem could begin with a future iPhone SE and iPhone 17 models, if previously reported development challenges can be overcome.
It's unclear if an Apple-designed 5G modem would have any consumer benefits over Qualcomm modems, but it would reduce Apple's reliance on Qualcomm on the supplier side. In 2017, Apple sued Qualcomm over alleged anticompetitive practices and $1 billion in unpaid royalty rebates. The two companies settled the lawsuit in 2019.
Popular Stories
The first benchmark results for the standard M3 chip surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database today, providing a closer look at the chip's CPU performance improvements. Based on the results so far, the M3 chip has single-core and multi-core scores of around 3,000 and 11,700, respectively. The standard M2 chip has single-core and multi-core scores of around 2,600 and 9,700, respectively, so the...
Apple appears to be internally testing an iOS 17.1.1 update for the iPhone, based on evidence of the software in our website's analytics logs this week. iOS 17.1.1 will almost certainly be focused on bug fixes, but it's unclear exactly which issues the update will address. The update could include the same fix for Wi-Fi connectivity issues that Apple rolled out in the first iOS 17.2 beta,...
Apple's latest M3 Pro chip in the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro has 25% less memory bandwidth than the M1 Pro and M2 Pro chips used in equivalent models from the two previous generations. Based on the latest 3-nanometer technology and featuring all-new GPU architecture, the M3 series of chips is said to represent the fastest and most power-efficient evolution of Apple silicon thus far. ...
Apple today released a new firmware update designed for the AirTag item trackers. The firmware features a build number of 2A61, up from the 2A36 firmware that came out last December. It has been nearly a year since Apple updated the firmware on the AirTags, and there is no word yet on what might be included in the update. Today's firmware release will be rolling out on a staggered basis....
The first benchmark results for Apple's M3 Max chip surfaced in the Geekbench 6 database today, providing a look at CPU performance. Based on the "Mac15,9" model identifier shown, the results appear to be for the new 16-inch MacBook Pro. The highest multi-core score for the M3 Max with a 16-core CPU is currently 21,084 as of writing. If this early result is accurate, this means the M3 Max is ...
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers and public beta testers last week, and the software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones. Below, we have highlighted 10 of these new features and changes. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in December. Once available, the update can be installed in the Settings app under General → Software...
Macs equipped with the standard M3 chip still support only one external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz, according to Apple's tech specs. So far, the chip is available in the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro and the 24-inch iMac. This limitation has existed since the first Apple silicon Macs with the M1 chip were released in 2020, but users can connect multiple external displays to...
The lower-cost Apple Music Voice Plan is being discontinued this month in the U.S. and all other countries where it was available, according to an Apple support document. Brazilian website MacMagazine was first to alert us to this news. "Beginning in November, Apple will discontinue the Apple Music Voice plan," said Apple. "We are focused on delivering the best, most robust music experience...
Top Rated Comments
The Intel modems were a hot mess ?.
Hopefully, Apple will prove us wrong BUT I wouldn't take that chance until the new modems are proven to be reliable over a period of time.
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/03/01/qualcomm-unveils-new-5g-snapdragon-x70-modem/
Apple hasn't even caught the non-AI enhanced model. Let alone 2 more years for Qualcomm to do more traning to get even better.
The rumbling as to why Apple was to target the iPhone SE4 first was that it was going to skip 5G mmWave band as a feature ( as the current one also does . Apple could get more kinks worked out of 'sub6' 5G before moving on broader spectrum issues. ).
Wouldn't bet the farm on that either if Qualcomm shifts to a discrete modem that using 2D-3D packaging to cut down on the inter-chip transmission power overhead. ( and it is starting to make less sense to put a modem and the CPU/GPU compute logic on the same die because the fab processes for different usages are going in different directions now. )
More likely best probable outcome for Apple is to get to a modem that is basically a 'tie' ( +/- %3 on most metrics) with Qualcomm. And Apple does the 'eat my own dog food' tie-breaker. (basically just going to avoid Qualcomm's mark-up on prices. ). Apple's supposed mantra is that they will only replace external stuff when they can do a better job. It is much harder to catch folks who aren't slowing down.
Qualcomm isn't being a slouch on the modem front. Every year Apple doesn't catch them there is just more ground to make up. This isn't fumbling , bumbling Intel they are trying to catch. ( the Infineon (where the Intel division Apple picked up) got 'left behind' by Qualcomm too over a decade ago. )
Updated SE would be a good pipe cleaner
I passed the analyst test.