And new patents are filed.
It's highly unlikely Qualcomm is standing still on future product.
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Apple's Custom 5G Modem Could 'Change the Way iPhone Looks and Works' in the Long Term
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And new patents are filed.
It's highly unlikely Qualcomm is standing still on future product.
I would really get behind this idea.
Like many comments around, it’s so strange that many laptops/desktops just don’t come with modem connectivity.
Even Cellular iPad and Watch have a hefty markup on top the original price for I don’t know the reason… imagine if WiFi had a $100 markup, and Bluetooth 5.3 another $100 one, so on and so forth.
If this means that the future M5 or M6 SoC will be having it all at the same price of entry, then that’s great.
What article says has sense. Space probably wont be main reason, but control and power efficiency and cost can be. But say for Watch even space saving can be interesting. If it will have comparable reception quality then only situation where may speed matters is Glasses.
How is anything mentioned here discussing changing how the iPhone looks? Aside from saving about 2 square mm's of size internally.
Apple is investing billions of dollars into developing an in-house cellular modem, but the project is not expected to yield immediate improvements for users, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports.
In last week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that, unlike the transition to Apple silicon, the company's first custom modem will not offer noticeable benefits for users. Individuals within Apple apparently "acknowledge that customers don't really care who makes the modem in their phone" and "it's hard to tell how big the benefits will be in the near term."
Instead, Apple is looking to play "the long game, hoping its modem will evolve into a more advanced component that could ultimately change the way an iPhone looks and works."
Apple has used modems designed by Qualcomm for over a decade, but moved to design its own following a legal battle over royalties and patents in 2018. Since then, it has faced issues with performance and overheating, and the component's debut has been pushed back until next year at the earliest. Its rollout is expected to take place on a gradual basis, starting with more niche devices and expanding across the lineup over the period of a few years.
Article Link: Apple's Custom 5G Modem Could 'Change the Way iPhone Looks and Works' in the Long Term
Money. The licensing fees paid to Qualcomm are based on the total retail prices of the product, estimated to average $7.50 per device.
Here's How Much Apple Was Paying Qualcomm in Royalties | The Motley Fool
The Mac maker was paying the mobile chip giant over $1 billion per year.www.fool.com
If Apple manages to make their own modems, avoid using Qualcomm's IP, and reduce their licensing fees, that adds up over millions/billions of devices. It doesn't matter if you get a slightly-worse-but-good-enough modem if they can save $5.
You can avoid buying Qualcomm's modem, which *may* save some cost. But you cant avoid Qualcomm the IP.
And if you can ( as macrumors' comment loves to believe so ), why didn't Apple avoid any of the Nokia, Ericsson 5G IP ?
Basically we have been through this a thousand times over the past 5 - 7 years. And 99% of comments on the topic is still wrong. Partly because the media are all extremely bias and doesn't want to report facts in the first place.
All this is just a matter of space optimization, nothing more
Yes, that is why I said IF.
Even if Apple finds a 5G implementation they think avoids some/all Qualcomm patents, they'll be a wave of litigation no matter what.
While it is not likely, this could also be just a huge bluff on Apple’s part in order to negotiate better terms and licensing fees from Qualcomm
Pretty sure Qualcomm won't keep supporting their chips with firmware updates after a short time unless you pay them to, which is one excuse Android vendors used to give for not continuing to update devices in the field to new Android versions.
Don't be ridiculous. Quite possible more than 50% of Apple's filed patents over the past two years have been modem related. They are doing VASTLY more work than just some sort of PR fake-out.
Oh, I'm sorry, I thought this was a serious conversation, not a forum for random anecdotes.
I'm not saying this is great data, but it's the only data I know of and it says you are basically wrong:
United States's Mobile and Broadband Internet Speeds - Speedtest Global Index
United States ranked 14th in the world for mobile speeds and 7th for fixed broadband speeds during June 2025.
www.speedtest.net
Feel free to respond if you have ACTUAL real data...
People said for years that Apple couldn't do their own CPU/GPUs, yet the ARM footprint was always out there. The modem footprint is a little harder but they did get the Intel folks, and have years of experience of integrating Snapdragon modem technology.