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iPhone 17 Lineup Features Apple's Custom N1 Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 Chip

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The new iPhone Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max have a new Apple-designed chip inside, the N1.

apple-n1-chip.jpg

The N1 is a networking chip. It supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread. Because Apple was able to create the chip to integrate with other hardware and software in the iPhone, it's more efficient and it offers improved reliability.

According to Apple, the N1 chip improves the performance and reliability of features like Personal Hotspot and AirDrop. The N1 will replace networking chips that Apple previously sourced from suppliers like Broadcom.

The iPhone 16 models supported Wi-Fi 7 already so that's not new, but Bluetooth 6 is an upgrade over the previous Bluetooth 5.3 support. Bluetooth 6 brings less interference in crowded areas for improved reliability, lower latency, updated wake and sleep cycles for longer battery life, better multi-stream audio support for spatial audio and other features, and improved hearing aid support.

Thread was also a feature in the prior-generation iPhone 16 models, but for those unfamiliar, a Thread radio allows the iPhone 17 models to directly control Thread-enabled smart home products.

With the N1 and other optimizations, the iPhone 17 models have some of the longest battery life in any iPhone to date. The iPhone 17 Pro lasts for up to 39 hours when watching videos, for example.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Lineup Features Apple's Custom N1 Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 Chip
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2025/09/09/iphone-17-n1-chip/
I’m surprised they didn’t take the audience during the presentation into the engineering lab and discuss this new chip.

I think it’s a big deal for Apple to be moving away from other manufacturers towards their own networking chips, especially in at least one flagship phone this year.

Yes they likely licensed certain aspects from those other manufacturers they are moving away from, but it’s cool to see where the integrations go next.
 
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I wonder if, in order to enjoy the benefits of this improved connectivity both devices have to have an N1 chip… because that would imply updating all my devices in the next few years to have my iPhone, iPad and Mac within this N1 ecosystem… right in time for the N2 to debut on the newer iPhones… Damn, they can lock a lot of new features out of non N1 devices, right?
 
Compote said:
Apple is crippling their phones with USB-2 technology, which is unforgivable and yet another deal-breaker.
Click to expand...

The Pro models get 10Gbps USB-C, which destroy the Galaxy S25 in speeds. Useful when saving ProRes video to an external SSD.

Taken from David DEVO Harry’s YouTube channel.
 

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In my opinion is this a big invention and almost up there will apple silicon. I look forward to upgrading my apple devices over the next 1-3 years just for this lower consumption chip.
 
Expecting more devices in the near future to have this chip. More in house components. Should help in having better battery life. Maybe the new MacBooks will also have this.
 
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