All Four iPhone 17 Models Said to Feature Apple-Designed Wi-Fi 7 Chip

[MacRumors]

Earlier this week, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said all four iPhone 17 models will be equipped with Apple's first-ever custom-designed Wi-Fi chip. He did not say which Wi-Fi version the chip will support, but it appears that it will be Wi-Fi 7.

All four iPhone 17 models will feature an Apple-designed Wi-Fi 7 chip, according to Jeff Pu, an analyst who covers companies within Apple's supply chain. He shared this information in a research note with GF Securities earlier this month.

The entire iPhone 16 lineup already supports Wi-Fi 7, so this is not much of a surprise, but the fact that the chip will be designed by Apple is notable. Apple recently debuted its custom-designed C1 modem in the iPhone 16e, for cellular connectivity, and now the company is expected to debut an in-house Wi-Fi chip in the iPhone 17 models later this year. By designing more of its own chips, Apple can reduce and eventually eliminate its reliance on external suppliers, including Qualcomm for modems and Broadcom for Wi-Fi chips.

Wi-Fi 7 allows for data transmission over the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands simultaneously with a supported router, resulting in faster Wi-Fi speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity. Wi-Fi 7 can provide peak speeds of over 40 Gbps, a 4× increase over Wi-Fi 6E, if a device supports the maximum specifications.

Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone 17 lineup in September.

Article Link: All Four iPhone 17 Models Said to Feature Apple-Designed Wi-Fi 7 Chip

 

[iBluetooth]

I look forward to getting this WiFi chip. What I would wish though is that Apple would again make a WiFi router like the AirPort which I am still using and getting 1 Gibs speed, but the AirPort is from 2013!

 

[koonce]

Some years ago I remember a rumor that Apple was considering an alternative to Bluetooth for high quality audio. I think newer versions of Bluetooth overcame the bandwidth limitations. Still curious to see if there is some future Airpods thing that only works on devices with the Apple WiFi chip.

 

[thefrost]

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Pbrutto]

This is still mostly irrelevant with apple refusing to use the 320Ghz band , 160 in many ways puts it on par with WiFi 6E and dilutes the 160Ghz band having 6E and 7 devices share. Hopefully they decided to actually follow the full scope of the spec instead of picking and choosing and them claiming WiFi 7. Curious if apple is actually taking advantage of the MLO capabilities to try to make up for lack of 320. I would guess not given ignoring the arguably most important feature for an end user.

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

The Apple bringing everything in house juggernaut continues.

 

[jent]

I look forward to getting this WiFi chip. What I would wish though is that Apple would again make a WiFi router like the AirPort which I am still using and getting 1 Gibs speed, but the AirPort is from 2013!

Do we think an Apple made-wifi chip might increase the likelihood of the return of AirPort? I really miss AirPort, the beautiful Mac application and iOS app, and the typical Apple ease with which everything "just worked." I always follow Apple router threads on the MacRumors Forums and one takeaway I've gotten is that doing tech support for internet issues is tough, as there are so many variables that it's not an attractive market to be in. That makes sense to me, but I hope in the spirit of strengthening the Apple ecosystem, they consider it again. I'd love for a new Time Machine for seamless wireless backups on home wifi, but I also think there is a big push for everything to go to iCloud and am not hopeful.

 

[sw1tcher]

Apple recently debuted its custom-designed C1 modem in the iPhone 16e, for cellular connectivity, and now the company is expected to debut an in-house Wi-Fi chip in the iPhone 17 models later this year.

Hoping Apple names the wi-fi chip the PO chip. Would buy an iPhone powered by a C3 modem chip and PO wi-fi chip

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Soon they will have an opportunity to sell their own home mesh network family of products using their own Wifi chips. And they should because many such products suck, and come from companies many of us do not trust. A good looking easy setup mesh product from Apple would go a long way, and could come with Matter and Apple's trademark reliability.

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Hoping Apple names the wi-fi chip the PO chip. Would buy an iPhone powered by a C3 modem chip and PO wi-fi chip

Not to burst your bubble but if they do one it'll probably be an update to the W chip. Funnily enough, I was only talking today with someone about things with clever names and mentioned many cool names from the SWU, firstly naming C3-PO. Lukas had a real knack for naming.

 

[kyjaotkb]

The entire iPhone 16 lineup already supports Wi-Fi 7

Is that true? I thought the 16e only had Wifi 6?

 

[nfl46]

Lol. Damn. Apple said f all y’all. We will control everything in our phones from software to hardware. That’s a BOSS move! The next 5-10 years will be interesting.

 

[xmach]

This is great news. In addition to iPhones, I hope Apple will also deploy these new Wi-Fi 7 chips throughout its product lines, including Apple Watch and HomePods (both of which have been stuck on Wi-Fi 4 for years now). For these products bandwidth isn't as important, but latency and energy efficiency are.

Wi-Fi 7's latency and bandwidth advantages will especially benefit the Vision Pro, which currently uses Wi-Fi 6 (not even 6E). Ditto for the Apple TV, also stuck on plain-old 6.

And of course Macs should always have the latest Wi-Fi technology; since last year all current Macs have been using Wi-Fi 6E, and it was surprising and unfortunate the newest, M4 MacBook Pro's didn't include Wi-Fi 7 even though they were introduced after the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, which did.

 

[bmark]

Lol. Damn. Apple said f all y’all. We will control everything in our phones from software to hardware. That’s a BOSS move! The next 5-10 years will be interesting.

Software still sucks and Apple Intelligence isn’t a game changer!

 

[dk001]

Is that true? I thought the 16e only had Wifi 6?

The iPhone 16e's Wi-Fi chip has a few limitations, including:

• Wi-Fi 6
  The iPhone 16e only supports Wi-Fi 6, while the iPhone 16 supports Wi-Fi 7 and 6E.
  
  
• No mmWave 5G
  The iPhone 16e lacks mmWave 5G connectivity, which means it can't reach the same speeds as the iPhone 16.
  
  
• No Thread networking
  The iPhone 16e doesn't support Thread networking, which means it can't act as a smart home router for Thread devices.
  
  
• No Ultra Wideband
  The iPhone 16e doesn't have an Ultra Wideband chip, which means it can't use Precision Finding for AirTags and Find My. It also impacts UWB smart locks and some vehicles that use Apple's car key platform.
  
  

 

[dk001]

So this makes the 17 a potential 1st gen for this.
That makes it a high priority of “let’s wait and see what does and doesn’t work”.

Color me unimpressed.

 

[HJM.NL]

Is that true? I thought the 16e only had Wifi 6?

iPhone 16e only supports wifi 6 no WiFi 6E or 7.

Peak brightness of the screen is also far lower.

 

[currocj]

all 4 iphone 17s? Sorry, is that: 17, 17 Pro, 17 air and 17E -or- are they considering the 17 Pro Max a distinct model from the 17 Pro?

 

[Reason077]

I'm really hoping for WiFi 7 in the M4 MacBook Air, too!

 

[BigES]

The WiFi 7 in the iPhone 16 family, thus excluding the 16e, does support MLO (which is great) but is limited to 2x2:2 MIMO and 160 MHz by the iPhone hardware and thus has a maximum speed of 2.4 Gbps (which of course is more than enough for any normal usage). I hope if Apple puts their new WiFi 7 chips in MacBooks, they also put in 320 MHz; it would be great, but perhaps too tough in a MacBook Pro to also include four antennae for 4x4:4 MIMO!

 

[CatalinApple]

I hope this WiFi chip will support 320 MHz because it is a part of the WiFi 7 standard that even the iPhone 16 Pro models don’t have it. It should come to their Mac’s lineup and all the other devices as well.

 

[svish]

Good to hear that the chip will be available in all models and not just the Air/Slim model. The new chip might help in improving battery life too.

 

[dk001]

Good to hear that the chip will be available in all models and not just the Air/Slim model. The new chip might help in improving battery life too.

Currently more like saving battery by cutting out features.
I personally like having 6, 6e, and 7 available.

Have to see what Apple turns this into with the 17.

 

[ksec]

Let's hope MacBook will also use this WiFI 7 chip as well.

 

[Phillyfinest89]

Lol. Damn. Apple said f all y’all. We will control everything in our phones from software to hardware. That’s a BOSS move! The next 5-10 years will be interesting.

funny thing is this was always apple plan.Control the full stack.