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Apple to Continue Using Qualcomm Modem Chips for 2023 iPhone 15 Models

I'm actually a little disappointed to hear that. I do somewhat worry that the first generation of Apple modems may be inferior to Qualcomm ones performance wise, so it's nice to hear iPhone 15 will keep them.

However, Apple bringing modem production in house means that we might eventually see the MacBook lineup getting cellular service. Also may bring 5G to the Apple Watch (which while not needed for speed, eventually 5G coverage will be a useful supplement to 4G coverage)
 
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krspkbl said:
good?

they work well. i'm not sure why i would want Apple's modem. some might be sold on it just because it's made by Apple and it might have a fancy name like their SoCs have (Mx, Axx Bionic, etc).

the only reason i can think of wanting this is if you want Apple to have more control and close down their products even more and of course make them more money. i get this is an apple forum but i'm not a shareholder. i'm a customer and this likely means i need to cough up more money since we all know Apple likes a good excuse to hike prices!

what's next? they going to start making cameras so they don't need to use Sony ones?
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Likely won't have a name since the current Apple WiFi/Bluetooth chips aren't named. Plus if the first generation is an utter disaster they don't want it tied to them.

If they do market it, probably would fall under the Ux naming scheme that the UWB chip uses.
 
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Don’t count on an Apple Modem anytime soon. There’s too much going on in the background between Lockdowns etc Some things are not even being talked about
 
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗 said:
Honestly, I'm happy with Qualcomm Modem chips. Much better than Intel.

I have a feeling when Apple start to produce its own 5G modem chips for the iPhone and iPad. We will see a significant price increase just like we did with M1/M2 Silicon chips.
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If it is a good product and is better than Qualcomm I will gladly pay more
 
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GubbyMan said:
Yet another “Gurman repeating what we’ve already heard rumor”.
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What other major news sources reported the rumor before July when Gurman indicated (citing Kuo) that there was a problem? Or reported the change in his latest update:

"Qualcomm Inc. will continue to provide the modem chips for the “vast majority” of iPhones in 2023" ?

The implication that another vendors' chip might be used is interesting.
 
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sw1tcher said:
Apple should just skip 5G and start working on 6G. Why try to play catch up?
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I would be willing to bet that Apple have already looked at the options from all angles and laid the most optimal roadmap for the next 5-7 years at least. They're a member of 3GPP so they're also observing the development of the specifications, including 5.5G and 6G.
 
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krspkbl said:
good?

they work well. i'm not sure why i would want Apple's modem. some might be sold on it just because it's made by Apple and it might have a fancy name like their SoCs have (Mx, Axx Bionic, etc).

the only reason i can think of wanting this is if you want Apple to have more control and close down their products even more and of course make them more money. i get this is an apple forum but i'm not a shareholder. i'm a customer and this likely means i need to cough up more money since we all know Apple likes a good excuse to hike prices!

what's next? they going to start making cameras so they don't need to use Sony ones?
Click to expand...

I would think the second gen would be on the A-series die for some power saving. For Apple to use it as an excuse to hike prices it would need to offer something the user can see or feel.

But then, Apple haven't needed to use excuses to hike prices before, so it'll probably happen completely independently of an in-house modem if they feel the market will still carry it, as always.
 
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I honestly can’t see apple competing against Qualcomm and putting out a better product any time soon. Will most likely be an inferior product that saves apple money
 
Why the heck doesn't Apple want to use Qualcomm modems? That company practically invented the wireless standards we use. I actually feel better about my phone having a Qualcomm modem than Intel or something Apple whips up in house. Qualcomm has been doing this far longer than Apple, and specializes in this work.
 
zorinlynx said:
Why the heck doesn't Apple want to use Qualcomm modems? That company practically invented the wireless standards we use. I actually feel better about my phone having a Qualcomm modem than Intel or something Apple whips up in house. Qualcomm has been doing this far longer than Apple, and specializes in this work.
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$$$ of course.
 
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now i see it said:
Intel was not able to manufacture 5G chips that met Apple's standards.

And neither can Apple
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Maybe the real problem is that they bought the Intel work to that point, the IP, the people, the way of doing that former work, etc. that couldn't build the modems correctly in the first place? Or maybe it's Apple's standards? Or all of the above?

It's probably not fair to blame the people (let's remove this one then). We all know good people can exist in a system that sucks (Intel's past processes and work output?).

Remember why Apple moved away from Intel for processors in the first place. It's was the imbalance between the power per watt. Could it be that Intel's modem work suffered from the same problem? And those are the Apple standards that Apple (based on Intel) couldn't match?
 
Baritone_Guy said:
Let’s just blame WFH for all our woes. It turns out building a performant modem is actually pretty difficult. Apple worked on the M1 architecture for a lot longer than they have been working on a modem
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Yes, I agree. What is Apple on now in terms of processor versions? The A14? That's 1 chip/1 variant a year for 14 years? Power sipping modems, that perform well ARE probably THAT hard.

I have heard the Qualcomm stuff is crap but it's the only crap on the market. Apple was probably thinking that can achieve M1 like leaps in performance over the i3/5/8 series in modems too! I bet they are right too. It's just going to take more than 3-4 years (vs. 14). So the real problem could be in the timing/duration, not what they will end up achieving: that same performance per watt.
 
Apples first modem will probably be really good or really bad with no in between. I will hold off on buying whichever iPhone model this chip comes to for at least a few months into its review cycle.
 
Also for 2024, 2025, 2026, …

Apple modem will follow the same path as air power and Apple car. In other words, high probability it won’t see light of day.
 
james2538 said:
Likely won't have a name since the current Apple WiFi/Bluetooth chips aren't named. Plus if the first generation is an utter disaster they don't want it tied to them.

If they do market it, probably would fall under the Ux naming scheme that the UWB chip uses.
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Where does Apple use its own WiFi/Bluetooth chips?
 
It looks like any workaround Apple comes up with to circumvent Qualcomm’s mountain of patents is just not good enough. It’s quite possible that when/if they do release their first modem, it won’t be as good as Qualcomm’s latest offering or even the previous year’s model. They may have gotten away from Intel, but getting away from Qualcomm will require much more effort.
 
krspkbl said:
good?

they work well. i'm not sure why i would want Apple's modem. some might be sold on it just because it's made by Apple and it might have a fancy name like their SoCs have (Mx, Axx Bionic, etc).

the only reason i can think of wanting this is if you want Apple to have more control and close down their products even more and of course make them more money. i get this is an apple forum but i'm not a shareholder. i'm a customer and this likely means i need to cough up more money since we all know Apple likes a good excuse to hike prices!

what's next? they going to start making cameras so they don't need to use Sony ones?
Click to expand...


People said the same thing for years about the rumored and then official switch from Intel to Apple Silicon. And now we have Macbooks that are so much better than before.

Apple W1 bluetooth chip (later H1/H2) was also an instant hit. Amazing power efficiency, which was noticable when they switched beats devices to it. (battery life jumped from 12h to 40h) And of course the great integration with Apple devices that it allowed.

And i don't think we need to talk about the performance of iPhones compared to other smartphone SoCs.

Apple has a good track record with their own chips. Which is why i'm optimistic that if they finally manage to make this happen, it will bring some advantage with it. Most likely energy efficiency, since they always seem to put this as the highest priority.
 
james2538 said:
Likely won't have a name since the current Apple WiFi/Bluetooth chips aren't named. Plus if the first generation is an utter disaster they don't want it tied to them.

If they do market it, probably would fall under the Ux naming scheme that the UWB chip uses.
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Apple uses Broadcom Wi-Fi and BT. They're not going to slap a name on someone else's chips.
 
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JPack said:
Apple uses Broadcom Wi-Fi and BT. They're not going to slap a name on someone else's chips.
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Ya, I was getting the laptops and watch chips mixed up. They actually do name the ones in the Apple Watch.
 
zorinlynx said:
Why the heck doesn't Apple want to use Qualcomm modems? That company practically invented the wireless standards we use. I actually feel better about my phone having a Qualcomm modem than Intel or something Apple whips up in house. Qualcomm has been doing this far longer than Apple, and specializes in this work.
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Apple is about cost cutting so they can show continually margins to their shareholders. Take a look at fabs, where TSMC is clearly the superior ones, yet Apple is already trying to not pay more for the more advance fabs. Look at screens. Samsung is king, yet Apple is sourcing to other vendors like BOE to save money. Apple will be moving to their own modem the minute they can to save cost.

Apple didn’t become a trillion dollar company out of nowhere. Removing chargers, reusing old designs, penny pinching seems the new Apple’s way.
 
2019, Macrumors comments were like Apple could move mountains, if they could make the fastest SoC they can make the best modem in 2020.... 2021..... 2022..... 2023........

And Apple make their own modem so they dont have pay any patents fees to Qualcomm...... LOL
 
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