[News] Apple Unveils Its First In-House Modem, Moving Away from Qualcomm

For years, there have been rumors that Apple planned to develop its own modem chips to reduce reliance on Qualcomm and cut costs. According to its press release, the newly released iPhone 16e is equipped with the Apple C1, the company’s first self-developed cellular modem.

As noted by a report from Reuters, these chips belong to a newly introduced set of components that Apple refers to as the C1 subsystem. This subsystem includes essential elements such as processors and memory.

Advantages of Apple’s C1

Quoting Apple’s Kaiann Drance, vice president of iPhone product marketing, the report highlights that due to the C1 system, the iPhone 16e—equipped with the same A18 processor chip as the rest of the iPhone 16 lineup—delivers the best battery efficiency of any 6.1-inch iPhone.

Challenges in Modem Chip Manufacturing

The report notes that one of the biggest challenges in developing modem chips is ensuring compatibility with hundreds of carriers across numerous countries. As highlighted in the report, only a few companies—Samsung Electronics, MediaTek, and Huawei Technologies—currently have the capability to produce modem chips.

As indicated by the report, which cites Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, the C1 subsystem is the most complex technology Apple has ever developed, featuring a baseband modem built on advanced 4-nanometer technology and a transceiver using 7-nanometer technology.

However, the report notes that the C1 chip lacks support for millimeter-wave 5G networks, a technology in which Qualcomm excels. As highlighted by a report from Wccftech, unlike the Snapdragon X75, the C1 does not support mmWave networks, potentially limiting its overall wireless performance.

Apple’s Modem Shift and Its Impact on Qualcomm

As noted by Reuters, Qualcomm executives stated that they expect their share of Apple modems to drop from its current 100% to as low as 20% by next year, though Qualcomm still has a technology licensing agreement in place with Apple until at least 2027.

According to a report from Bloomberg in late 2024, Apple’s move toward developing its own modems can be traced back to its 2019 acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem chip business for USD 1 billion.

The Bloomberg report also mentions that by 2026, Apple aims to narrow the performance gap with Qualcomm through its second-generation modem, code-named Ganymede. This chip is expected to debut in the iPhone 18 lineup and higher-end iPads by 2027.

Read more

• [News] Apple Unveils iPhone 16e: A Budget AI-Powered Smartphone, Replacing the SE Line
• [News] Apple Reportedly Set to Launch Self-Made Modem Chip, Challenging Qualcomm

(Photo credit: Apple)