iPhone 16 Pro Max I DO NOT want Apple’s first 5G Modem phone. I’m not a Beta tester.

[jz0309]

Apple is trying again to ditch Qualcomm, and if you didn’t get a new iPhone 16. This is probably your last chance at having a quality phone with a higher quality 5G modem. So get a 16 Pro or Pro Max while you can.

You do not really know anything about this new modem, not even when/if it will be released.
if you’re that concerned, just don’t buy the model with it, problem solved.
and yes, Apple really screwed up on every single chip they introduced, they don’t know what they’re doing /s

 

[Return Zero]

lol it’s true apple has such a terrible track record making first-gen chips

M1 was a total flop
H1 ruined Bluetooth forever
R1 holds back Vision Pro big time
T1 let Apple steal my fingerprint
S1 was totally over-engineered
U1 U is for useless
W1 who even knows what it’s for
A4 A is for Antennagate

 

[ennisw]

well. good for you.

 

[JokoWidodo]

actually only 17 Air and SE will use it, the rest is still qualcomm

 

[gpat]

The concern is valid, but they are using the new SE as a guinea pig.

If the performance is awful (I'm quite sure it will be) and the s**tstorm is loud enough, they may refrain from bringing the modem to the higher end models.

If I were Apple, I'd just use it for the more marginal models, like also the cellular iPad, in which the cell reception is not as important as it is on the iPhone.

Anyway, it's good that the 16 and 15 line stay there as a failsafe.

 

[HylianKnight]

Then, avoid purchasing an Apple device when they’re utilizing their own 5G modems. They must begin somewhere, and labeling it as a beta test is unjustified. Every new Apple product undergoes rigorous quality assurance, field testing, and iterations before becoming a consumer device. Apple intends to develop their own modems, and eventually, they will need to incorporate them into a product. I suppose some individuals held similar opinions when Apple decided to abandon Intel and manufacture its own chips. That turned out quite well, in my opinion. In summary, don’t knock something before you try it.

 

[Tsepz]

Apple is trying again to ditch Qualcomm, and if you didn’t get a new iPhone 16. This is probably your last chance at having a quality phone with a higher quality 5G modem. So get a 16 Pro or Pro Max while you can.

Quite happy with my 15 PM, if Apple’s 5G modem gets another delay I will get a 17 PM.
I get the feeling there will be a delay, if I am wrong I will skip to the next.

 

[5167767]

Even if there’s initial issues with the modem. It can be addressed with future software updates. I had poor reception and call quality with my iPhone XS and about 6 months ago it seemed to be resolved with a software update. I have an iPhone 14 and XS. The call quality seems to be the same , I guess just a bit slower data , due to the XS being and older phone .

 

[Parowdy]

This whole post is ridiculous. If you don’t want to be a “beta” tester (which, once the phone is released, you’re not, the beta phase for hardware is before release), then just wait a year and buy the generation of iPhone after that. Voila. No longer “beta tester”.
Also, news flash, if you consider a previously unreleased piece of hardware to be a beta test, then you really can’t buy any new iPhone ever, lest you’re a beta tester for the new SoC or whatever new stuff in there.

To be fair, OP isn’t the only one calling new tech in new iPhones that have been released „beta testst“.
Because that’s what the iPhone 5 release felt like, or the 6, or the 4. Or the MacBook (2015), or the MacBooks Pro 2016-17. Or the trash can Mac Pro. Or Fine Woven.
So, no, the post itself isn’t ridiculous, the thread is. OP has a point, even if not completely.

 

[Parowdy]

Even if there’s initial issues with the modem. It can be addressed with future software updates. I had poor reception and call quality with my iPhone XS and about 6 months ago it seemed to be resolved with a software update. I have an iPhone 14 and XS. The call quality seems to be the same , I guess just a bit slower data , due to the XS being and older phone .

I had poor reception with my 2018 phone but a 2024 update fixed it so it’s all fine.
I don’t know that seems excessive and no one should wait this long for something this simple and essential.

 

[Contact_Feanor]

To be fair, OP isn’t the only one calling new tech in new iPhones that have been released „beta testst“.
Because that’s what the iPhone 5 release felt like, or the 6, or the 4. Or the MacBook (2015), or the MacBooks Pro 2016-17. Or the trash can Mac Pro. Or Fine Woven.
So, no, the post itself isn’t ridiculous, the thread is. OP has a point, even if not completely.

come on, the OP is making a pearl-clutching "how dare apple make us beta testers" post out of it. He can just wait a year and then the one feature he's basing that statement on will no longer be the first gen of it. so yes, it's ridiculous.

 

[Reverend Benny]

I had poor reception with my 2018 phone but a 2024 update fixed it so it’s all fine.
I don’t know that seems excessive and no one should wait this long for something this simple and essential.

You make a good point here. And who knows, maybe this case involved waiting for broadcom releasing a patch for their hardware that Apple could include in an update.

If Apple makes their own kit it could potentially be easier to fix and making them less dependant for a third party to release fixes.

 

[Moukee]

You make a good point here. And who knows, maybe this case involved waiting for broadcom releasing a patch for their hardware that Apple could include in an update.

If Apple makes their own kit it could potentially be easier to fix and making them less dependant for a third party to release fixes.

I can't really believe that Apple would make a contract with Broadcom allowing them to take 6 years to fix a firmware bug.

 

[Reverend Benny]

I can't really believe that Apple would make a contract with Broadcom allowing them to take 6 years to fix a firmware bug.

Considering the constant flow of patches that Qualcomm releases for their products (Android manufacturers are generally open with it) I can only imagine that this was either a Qualcomm issue or a combo that needed a joint effort in solving. And maybe it wasn't prioritized to fix either since the device was working and weren't security related.

Cellular connectivity seem fairly complex, lets say its related to only one LTE band being affected it might be a case that only few would notice. Not saying its less important, but less priorotized and could potentially be tricky to troubleshoot.

 

[5167767]

I had poor reception with my 2018 phone but a 2024 update fixed it so it’s all fine.
I don’t know that seems excessive and no one should wait this long for something this simple and essential.

I agree, I had poor reception for over 3 years. But, it’s all okay now.

 

[Reverend Benny]

I agree, I had poor reception for over 3 years. But, it’s all okay now.

So what version of iOS fixed the reception issues?

 

[5167767]

So what version of iOS fixed the reception issues?

I am not sure what version it was. My iPhone XS has an intel modem I believe. It was pretty bad, since I bought phone. I think it’s was resolved 6 to 9 months ago. So probably iOS 17.

 

[xpxp2002]

I had poor reception with my 2018 phone but a 2024 update fixed it so it’s all fine.
I don’t know that seems excessive and no one should wait this long for something this simple and essential.

Agreed. My iPhone 6s with its Qualcomm modem had no issues. My iPhone 7 with its Intel modem had constant audio dropouts during calls. I specifically replaced it with a Qualcomm iPhone X the next year because I couldn’t reliably have people hear me during work-related calls.

And that’s what Apple inherited through that purchase. It’s inferior tech full of inefficient patent workarounds that clearly don’t perform well. Just like the numerous Intel Puma cable modem chipsets that drop UDP packets and are vulnerable to DoS attacks. Intel’s modem business was never good.

Why anybody would compare Apple’s in-house built M-series chips with rebadged Intel junk is beyond me.

 

[Parowdy]

come on, the OP is making a pearl-clutching "how dare apple make us beta testers" post out of it. He can just wait a year and then the one feature he's basing that statement on will no longer be the first gen of it. so yes, it's ridiculous.

Like I said, the initial worry is legitimate, the thread is ridiculous. Or at least the amount of discussion.
I agree that OP should wait and not claim a new, unannounced in-house modem will be flawed.
But to say there haven’t been hardware „beta tests“ that made it to the public is at least as ridiculous.

 

[DCIFRTHS]

But to say there haven’t been hardware „beta tests“ that made it to the public is at least as ridiculous.

I’m in agreement with your post, but I’m extrapolating on OP’s post…

My opinion is that people are fed up with the idea of buying subpar hardware for premium prices. When it does happen, it can make one feel like a tester.

Apple is no stranger to this, and is guilty of stubbornness. In some cases they continue to sell products that have subpar designs with a propensity for failure. The first example that comes to mind is the butterfly keyboard.

Getting burned after you plunk down cash, on “superior, magical technology”, well… it sucks.

Most of apples products are very good, but there are failures that leave you gun shy.

As I stated in an earlier post, I’m not a fan of Apple making their own modem, but I’m willing to let them give it a go. I won’t buy the first round. I will buy after it is field tested by people willing to take the risk of cutting edge RF technology from a new player in the game - meaning Apple’s cellular modems.

Honestly, if Apple was confident in their new modem (it’s actually vapor until it’s released) they would not just have it power entry level phones unless it has lower specs that don’t belong in higher priced phones OTHERWISE they actually will be testing it in entry level products - but that brings us back to beta testing again.

Should it be left to the people that buy entry level devices to test new technology? Quite the conundrum.

I wasn’t a fan of Apple making their own SOC, but they proved my worries were unfounded, and overall did a great job. I’m very happy with my M series SOC. I was a second generation adopter though.

 

[joeblow7777]

Hate to break it to you, but if you’ve bought any sort of technology in the last 50 years, you’ve been a beta tester in some form of fashion for one company or another.

If you’re that concerned about it, then I have a cave, a (stone) tablet some papyrus and an abacus for sale real cheap.

Get over it.

I was basically going to say the same thing. Every new device is going to have some piece of hardware that's new, otherwise it would just be an old device with a software update. Why worry? Buy whatever device you want when you actually know what it offers (instead of making purchasing decisions based on speculation) and if it's unsatisfactory, that's what the return period is for.

 

[Parowdy]

I’m in agreement with your post, but I’m extrapolating on OP’s post…

My opinion is that people are fed up with the idea of buying subpar hardware for premium prices. When it does happen, it can make one feel like a tester.

Apple is no stranger to this, and is guilty of stubbornness. In some cases they continue to sell products that have subpar designs with a propensity for failure. The first example that comes to mind is the butterfly keyboard.

Getting burned after you plunk down cash, on “superior, magical technology”, well… it sucks.

Most of apples products are very good, but there are failures that leave you gun shy.

As I stated in an earlier post, I’m not a fan of Apple making their own modem, but I’m willing to let them give it a go. I won’t buy the first round. I will buy after it is field tested by people willing to take the risk of cutting edge RF technology from a new player in the game - meaning Apple’s cellular modems.

Honestly, if Apple was confident in their new modem (it’s actually vapor until it’s released) they would not just have it power entry level phones unless it has lower specs that don’t belong in higher priced phones OTHERWISE they actually will be testing it in entry level products - but that brings us back to beta testing again.

Should it be left to the people that buy entry level devices to test new technology? Quite the conundrum.

I wasn’t a fan of Apple making their own SOC, but they proved my worries were unfounded, and overall did a great job. I’m very happy with my M series SOC. I was a second generation adopter though.

To be honest, I disliked OPs original post, I saw where he was coming from but that kind of speculation, if you can call it that, is nonsensical.
But then I disliked people saying OP had no point for his reasoning even more.
I agree with you tho and think I have nothing more to add 👍🏻

 

[maxoakland]

Apple is trying again to ditch Qualcomm, and if you didn’t get a new iPhone 16. This is probably your last chance at having a quality phone with a higher quality 5G modem. So get a 16 Pro or Pro Max while you can.

You'll be able to buy the iPhone 16 for a long time after the 17 comes out. We don't know for sure if the 17 will have an Apple modem and there's no reason to upgrade for this reason until we do

 

[it wasnt me]

A distinction must be made here. Qualcomm is a fundamentally unsympathetic company (after all, they killed Eudora!) that owns some patents, but is simply outrageous in its licensing behaviour. I can understand Apple. What's more, ‘not Qualcomm’ doesn't have to be bad just because ‘not Qualcomm’ was bad a few years ago.

 

[TheRealAlex]

I’ll buy Apple’s 5th Gen Modem Apple only gets good after a 5th Gen new product.