Apple Sets 'Aggressive' 2022 Deadline to Bring Custom 5G Modems to iPhones

[JulianL]

By some measure, iPhones already have 'Apple-designed' modems in that they have Intel-designed modems and Apple is in the process of buying Intel's modem division. If Apple wanted to stick with 4G modems until its own 5G modems were ready, it wouldn't have needed that multi-year agreement with Qualcomm.

Admittedly my use of the term "Apple-designed" wasn't specific enough and your "by some measure" observation is correct. Maybe "Apple-optimised" or "Apple-specific" would have been better terms to have used. I'm assuming here that the Intel design team while still employed by Intel was designing one or more generic modem chips rather than doing custom silicon specifically for Apple but someone please correct me if I'm wrong on that.

If my understanding above is correct then once those Intel engineers are Apple employees I assume they will not in any way be expected to create modems for the general phone market but will only be tasked with creating the most streamlined and efficient modems they can specifically for use in Apple products. At that point I really do wonder what fat can be cut out, what co-packaging or even wafer-level integration with other iPhone/iPad/etc circuitry might be possible, and what patented Apple technology used for power optimisation on the A-series SoCs might be able to be carried across to the modems.

I do hope this acquisition and building the modem design team is more than just getting design control of another piece of the iPhone/etc internals purely for business reasons and that it will also lead to genuine design optimisations that make the iPhone product better and/or more efficient than they would otherwise have been if they still used third-party components not as single-mindedly designed specifically for Apple's products.

 

[fourthtunz]

I don't know if these health concerns about 5G are true, or just weird hyperventalation, but a 2022 date for it at least gives some time for the technology to be sorted out and vetted before it shows up next to our ears.

I don't think the iPhone itself is the worry when it comes to 5G..its the towers.

 

[atmc]

With that timeline I can imagine intels 5G development wasn't even in prototype stage...
We were promised the same for 4G. 700MHz LTE to be precise to close the "white spots on the map".
Apart from that, 5G isn't a huge step forwards for phones or end-customers such as the average smartphone user.

And it was delivered. 700Mhz 4G has better speed and better coverage than 900MHz 3G. Same will happen with 5G (at least for speed with similar coverage).

 

[Justanotherfanboy]

You're literally on an island by yourself if you don't understand why users want all their devices on one modern connector standard.

All the big computer companies deliver power through USB-C. This includes Apple on both the iPad Pro (which is the direction Apple is going) and MacBooks.

Don't put words in other people's mouth (especially when they're your out of touch takes)

Lol, & I posit that YOU are way, way, way out of touch with reality if you think 100+ million iPhone users want to switch up a ubiquitous connector that’s been in use for like 7 years because like maybe 1 million of them also have a computer that charges from that connector! =)
It literally seems obvious to to me.... I understand that most iPhone users will never ever own a computer (like, for what?) & that computers are well on their way to becoming a niche device, already far eclipsed by people that use their phones for the tasks that all but a minority of people would need a separate device for.

Apologies for “putting words” into your mouth by..... ummmm, completing a 1/2 sentence trailed off incomplete thought from a previous post. I completely recognize that it was an attempt at sarcasm, meant to snidely disregard any opposing opinion & try to position it as clearly false. I guess I could’ve dismantled the notion in a different manner that couldn’t be confused. You have my word that I will be much more direct, if I think any other bold claims you make on the behalf of hundreds of millions of people that aren’t you, actually represent merely what YOU want, NOT all users, by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[darknite38]

Even in 2022 the 5g coverage will most likely be still so spares who cares. I honestly believe that 5g wont become relevant for another half a decade.

that's a funny way of saying that you think that the estimates are less than two years off

 

[k1121j]

I'm not excited for 5G as it is now when i'm in a congested area like and event i have to turn off LTE to get any data so i only imagine 5G being worse ?!?

 

[Black Belt]

Taking 3 years to implement 5G is anything BUT aggressive.

 

[AppLearnStay]

Tbh 3G was fast enough for me. What I’d like to see is Apple working toward lower prices. Their Pro iPhone doesn’t even have a USBc port and still retails for €1,179 in my country for the 64 GB version. I shudder to think what an Apple car might cost. And parts?

you joking right? apple will use this as an oppertunity to increase price of iphone and it will start at $1500.
mark my words apples base model will start at $1000 in 2 years

 

[gregohb]

What good is a 5G phone on a 4G network?

 

[AustinIllini]

Taking 3 years to implement 5G is anything BUT aggressive.

Based on what, exactly?

5G phones now are completely experimental and none of them have any useful 5G coverage to use.

 

[sshambles]

There’s little aggressive about this. (except for the fact they’re making the modem themselves). However, if they recently acquired a company who was already making this anyhow — then my first sentence still stands.

 

[techwhiz]

The Intel deal hasn't closed yet, but anyway I knew they didn't have the in-house expertise to do a modem in a reasonable amount of time before the Intel deal was announced.

People here told me I was wrong. At no point did Apple go on the hiring spree that was required to build a good modem team.

 

[bn-7bc]

Even in 2022 the 5g coverage will most likely be still so spares who cares. I honestly believe that 5g wont become relevant for another half a decade.

Well at least here in Norway one of the to lagest MNOs have said that they are going to have a nation wide 5G network up an running by the end of 2023 which means a lot of placers will be up before then, the other MNO has assimiler plans, and if not they will probably accelerate them as they don't want to be beaten by theit main competition.

 

[Steve121178]

Honest question. What is the main advantage of 5G? Is it simply speed?

Much lower latency, speed etc.

I agree that it's not as significant an update like 4G was to 3G. But for people to dismiss 5G as "not needed" is madness.

 

[0837990]

Tbh 3G was fast enough for me. What I’d like to see is Apple working toward lower prices. Their Pro iPhone doesn’t even have a USBc port and still retails for €1,179 in my country for the 64 GB version. I shudder to think what an Apple car might cost. And parts?

Apple Car and parts? Really? No no, once a part breaks, you cannot repair the item. You have to replace it with an entirely new car. Or deal with a ton of glue and adhesives if you want to try and DIY it. Or send it of to Apple for service and wait a couple of weeks. Oh and remember to purchase AppleCare+ so that when the glass rims break, you get a decently priced replacement.