If your company has the capability to build an internal component for one of their products, they should do it. Apple is a unique company with their vertical integration and should be applauded. It’s not anticompetitive actually. Qualcomm is the main producer of these modems. Apple would be an additional competitor.
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Kuo: Apple's 5G Modem to Rapidly Roll Out in iPhones Starting Next Year
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That’s because Verizon flubbed its 5G rollout and is way behind the competition in that respect. I have T-Mobile and I get mmWave service surprisingly often.
Cellular Modems and CPU are entirely different categories. Before they knocked it out of the park with M series chips, they had years of experiencing developing CPUs in iPhones.
definitely getting the iphone this year that still has the qualcomm modem, after the intel modem disaster that I lived with for 5 years (constant no/slow data and need reboots to get it working again, only to stop working 30 mins later etc..), i definitely will not be left holding the bag with a first gen apple modem. Let it mature for 4-5 years if it turns out to actually work good then i will get it with iphone 20. Qualcomm despite their cutthroat business practices, make great modems.
Makes sense really. The U.S. focus on mmWave was largely because of geopolitical factors. The government was reluctant to release mid-band spectrum, so carriers were compelled to adopt mmWave. From a commercial and engineering standpoint, mmW's limited range and susceptibility to interference made it a bad choice.
You can read this DoD report in 2019 where they realized that strategy wasn't working and recommended a complete reversal.
The other issue is can the new Apple modem have reasonable performance without infringing on the Qualcomm patents?
Apple has tried squirming around this issue before with the mixed results.
Apple has tried squirming around this issue before with the mixed results.
Apple is moving forward with this whether you like it or not. They are paying Qualcomm billions of dollars and it has to stop. They paid Intel to buy there Modem Patents for 1 Billion and canceled there Apple Car project all because of this custom modem project.
Apple wants to move on as they have found a way to cut cost tremendously. It may not be goodbye to Qualcomm but hello to hella savings
Complaints about cellular connectivity difficulties project to begin to exponentially increase in 2025.
Apple is rumored to have been working on its own 5G modem for iPhones since 2018, and it appears the chip will finally debut next year.
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today estimated that shipments of Apple's in-house 5G chip will reach 35-40 million units in 2025, and "grow rapidly" to 90-110 million units in 2026 and 160-180 million units in 2027.
Kuo previously said two iPhone models with an Apple-designed 5G modem will be released in 2025, including a fourth-generation iPhone SE in the first quarter of the year and an all-new, ultra-thin iPhone 17 model in the third quarter.
All existing iPhones that are currently sold by Apple are equipped with Qualcomm modems for cellular connectivity, but Kuo expects Apple to transition away from Qualcomm over time. Earlier this year, Apple extended its 5G modem supply agreement with Qualcomm for iPhone launches through 2026, so Apple still has plenty of time.
Apple acquired the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019, as part of its efforts to design its own 5G chip. It is unclear if Apple's chip would have any consumer benefits over Qualcomm's modems, but it would reduce Apple's reliance on Qualcomm. In 2017, Apple sued Qualcomm over alleged anticompetitive practices and $1 billion in unpaid royalty rebates. The two companies settled the lawsuit in 2019.
Article Link: Kuo: Apple's 5G Modem to Rapidly Roll Out in iPhones Starting Next Year
Google put a new modem manufactured by Samsung in there new Pixel 9 series called the: Samsung Exynos Modem 5400. The new modem has been getting very good reviews.
Hopefully Apple can work some good magic 🪄 on there custom modem like Samsung did with there custom modem.
Hopefully Apple can work some good magic 🪄 on there custom modem like Samsung did with there custom modem.
The USA isn’t the only country in the world and many other countries still have 3G service.
Me too and I am going to keep my iPhone 16 Pro until at least 2028. 4 years should give them enough time to work out all the issues if the rumors about this modem turn out to be true.
To be honest, for me it was already set in stone to buy this year's iPhone even before more rumors about Apple's modem came out. I don't want to deal with a new design next year and I am on a 3-4 year upgrade cycle anyway. I can't wait to see what Apple will do with the iPhone in 2027 for its 20th anniversary.
Something like that. Sooner or later they will replace Qualcomm modems and I am not saying they will do a bad job with the first generation of their in-house modem but I just don't want to take the risk.
That's exactly my plan. I am really looking forward to 2027 because of the 20th anniversary of the iPhone and I bet Apple will surprise us just like they did in 2017. This is more exciting than the iPhone 17 series in 2025.
Just buy this year's iPhone and hold on to it untill 2027, even 2028 just to be sure.
Get the iPhone 16 and wait untill 2027 or 2028 because of the iPhone 20th anniversary is in 3 years from now and I bet Apple will surprise us just like they did in 2017. This is more exciting than the iPhone 17 series in 2025.
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Qualcomm has a nightmare
Apple is rumored to have been working on its own 5G modem for iPhones since 2018, and it appears the chip will finally debut next year.
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today estimated that shipments of Apple's in-house 5G chip will reach 35-40 million units in 2025, and "grow rapidly" to 90-110 million units in 2026 and 160-180 million units in 2027.
Kuo previously said two iPhone models with an Apple-designed 5G modem will be released in 2025, including a fourth-generation iPhone SE in the first quarter of the year and an all-new, ultra-thin iPhone 17 model in the third quarter.
All existing iPhones that are currently sold by Apple are equipped with Qualcomm modems for cellular connectivity, but Kuo expects Apple to transition away from Qualcomm over time. Earlier this year, Apple extended its 5G modem supply agreement with Qualcomm for iPhone launches through 2026, so Apple still has plenty of time.
Apple acquired the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019, as part of its efforts to design its own 5G chip. It is unclear if Apple's chip would have any consumer benefits over Qualcomm's modems, but it would reduce Apple's reliance on Qualcomm. In 2017, Apple sued Qualcomm over alleged anticompetitive practices and $1 billion in unpaid royalty rebates. The two companies settled the lawsuit in 2019.
Article Link: Kuo: Apple's 5G Modem to Rapidly Roll Out in iPhones Starting Next Year
The benefit to consumers is massive. Competition is always good for consumers. The Qualcomm modem monopoly is certainly not good for consumers. Hopefully, Apple's modems are good enough.
Wouldn't it be interesting if Apple made the modems available to others for less? Imagine the hurt to Qualcomm for monopolistic price gouging if that was the case.
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What people seem to forget is that modems are quite different from CPUs.
Modems have to adhere to standards, no "thinking outside the box".
What you have to do is optimize, optimize, optimize. And then patent these optimizations. Something Qualcomm has been doing for years.
So, building a new modem, with great optimizations, without infringing on other companies patents is no easy feat. I don't really see the benefits for Apple here. Sure, they pay QC a hefty sum, but hiring top-of-the-class engineers and building test facilities to maybe get equal performance is not cheap. And it's not like you do it in a single sprint and then be done with it, it is something you constantly have to throw money at to keep up.
But, I guess Tim Apple did the math and thought they could come out ahead so...
Modems have to adhere to standards, no "thinking outside the box".
What you have to do is optimize, optimize, optimize. And then patent these optimizations. Something Qualcomm has been doing for years.
So, building a new modem, with great optimizations, without infringing on other companies patents is no easy feat. I don't really see the benefits for Apple here. Sure, they pay QC a hefty sum, but hiring top-of-the-class engineers and building test facilities to maybe get equal performance is not cheap. And it's not like you do it in a single sprint and then be done with it, it is something you constantly have to throw money at to keep up.
But, I guess Tim Apple did the math and thought they could come out ahead so...
Everyone is tired of Qualcomm having a Monopoly and that’s about to come to a end as Apple and Google have billions of dollars to research and develop there own custom modem
Googles new pixel lineup uses a new custom modem from Samsung.
Apple’s new iPhone SE 4 will use there own custom modem.
Qualcomm is very concerned and know the end is near for them.
Googles new pixel lineup uses a new custom modem from Samsung.
Apple’s new iPhone SE 4 will use there own custom modem.
Qualcomm is very concerned and know the end is near for them.
Good to know. With Apple's own 5G modem, expecting to see Macs with cellular connectivity options.
So which one should we choose, Apple has its own 5G modem, Huawei has its own 5G modem and Qualcomm has its own 5G modem
Apple iPhone, Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel will all be ditching Qualcomm in the near future and using there own custom manufactured 5G modem.
Qualcomm may have to lower there prices in order to retain there market share and clients.
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Tim Cook hates being strangled by a monopoly in Qualcomm. They recruited poach hired the CEO head of Qualcomm a few years ago to get the custom 5g project in the right direction and have invested billions of dollars into research and development including paying billions for modem patents through Intel.
Will be interesting to see there custom 5G modem debut next year and Cook’s announcement about it
Qualcomm is gonna be in trouble if Apple has found a successful way around there patents.
Tim Cook just wants to save costs and also the benefits of having the modem use less battery 🔋 on its iPhone’s
this is not true.
there is almost no country in the world that has not shut it down already or in the process of doing that.
and what few countries do still offer 3G haven't been allowing any new 3G customers for several years.
its been like this for a good 5 years already.
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