Kuo: iPhone 17 to Feature Apple-Designed Wi-Fi 7 Chip

[MacRumors]

At least one iPhone 17 model launching next year will be equipped with an Apple-designed Wi-Fi 7 chip, according to Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

All current iPhone models are equipped with a combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip supplied by Broadcom, but Kuo expects Apple to equip "nearly all" of its products with its own in-house Wi-Fi chip "within about three years." The analyst said this move would reduce Apple's component costs and further bolster Apple's hardware and software integration.

All four iPhone 16 models already support Wi-Fi 7 with Broadcom's chip, but with some limited specifications. Kuo said Apple's in-house Wi-Fi chip will support "the latest Wi-Fi 7 spec," but he did not provide any further details. The chip will be manufactured with TSMC's 7nm manufacturing process known as N7, he added.

Kuo has aligned with information shared last year by Jeff Pu, another analyst who covers companies within Apple's supply chain. Pu said the iPhone 17 Pro models would be equipped with an Apple-designed Wi-Fi 7 chip, and he said the in-house chip would expand to the entire iPhone 18 lineup the following year.

Apple is also expected to launch its own 5G chip next year, starting in the next iPhone SE and the rumored ultra-thin iPhone 17 model at a minimum. There have been conflicting rumors about whether the Apple-designed 5G and Wi-Fi chips will be separate chips, or one combined chip with 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS capabilities.

Wi-Fi 7 allows for data transmission over the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands simultaneously with a supported router, resulting in faster Wi-Fi speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connectivity. Wi-Fi 7 can provide peak speeds of over 40 Gbps, a 4× increase over Wi-Fi 6E, if a device supports the maximum specifications.

Article Link: Kuo: iPhone 17 to Feature Apple-Designed Wi-Fi 7 Chip

 

[StuBeck]

This comment will be updated with more details.

 

[gpat]

Disaster waiting to happen.
For the love of God, stick to Qualcomm and Broadcom for connectivity.

 

[JPack]

Probably the Slim again.

 

[jo-1]

good news - in the past years Apple has done an amazing job in chip design with their A and M SoCs.​

Now that they incorporate also the RF side of things it can only get better. Imagine what would happen if they could integrate the phy in a meaningful design into their SoCs and make the parts more efficient and cost effective.

From my perspective excellent news and with the history of industry leading designs like the latest M4 incarnations a very very good news for all future products.

In case things will progress like with the M1 .. M4 SoCs things will become very competitive for the competition - and that's the ultimate goal for customers.

 

[Kbaegis]

Oh darn- JUST missed the MBP release.

 

[psxp]

Probably the Slim again.

yeah, was thinking the same thing..

 

[vegetassj4]

To avoid dropping the Wi-Fi connection, one must stand on one leg, rub his tummy, and hold the phone only with the pinky and index finger. #antennagate2 Wifi Snafu

 

[jo-1]

Oh darn- JUST missed the MBP release.

just wait 1 ½ years and you can get the next MBP with WiFi 7 and the M5 Max plus potentially stacked OLED display - that would be my favorite replacement for my current M1 Max 14" MBP

 

[d5aqoëp]

The current half-arsed Wifi 7/6e chips Apple is using are really a shame for such ultra expensive devices. Apple can't even do 320Mhz channel Width for 6Ghz Wifi7. Apple does say that my iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro now support 160Mhz channel Width on 5Ghz, but still my phones only connect at 1200 Mbps link speeds on Ubiquiti U7 Pros. Which means they are still limited to 5Ghz 80Mhz width.

I really had hoped that Apple used some competent Wifi7 + Bluetooth 5.4 combo chip like QCNCM865 from Qualcomm or even Intel BE200 to run their iPhones on next gen wireless networks.

 

[Rafagon]

7 nm? That's huge. Make it smaller.

 

[Chiromac81]

Would be nice if some or all of the recently announced products that people will likely use for 3-5 years had wifi 7.

Huuuge miss by Apple. People may not have wifi 7 now but they WILL during the life of these products

 

[zombierunner]

and I will ensure I don't get that model.

 

[wanha]

The current half-arsed Wifi 7/6e chips Apple is using are really a shame for such ultra expensive devices. Apple can't even do 320Mhz channel Width for 6Ghz Wifi7. Apple does say that my iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro now support 160Mhz channel Width on 5Ghz, but still my phones only connect at 1200 Mbps link speeds on Ubiquiti U7 Pros. Which means they are still limited to 5Ghz 80Mhz width.

I really had hoped that Apple used some competent Wifi7 + Bluetooth 5.4 combo chip like QCNCM865 from Qualcomm or even Intel BE900 to run their iPhones on next gen wireless networks.

what do you need that much data speed on a phone for?

edit: that's now three people that disagree with the post. It's a genuine question. Should I not ask it?

 

[Kylo83]

Coming to MacBook Pros in 2030, I really hope WiFi 7 comes to the MacBook next year with apples own chip

 

[jo-1]

what do you need that much data speed on a phone for?

in principle this is always considered under the idea of run to sleep

the faster you can complete a task the more you save on battery - provided the fast execution has a net saving of energy - which is normally the case

 

[wanha]

I know this is a bit beside the point, but I wish Apple would get back into making wifi base stations.

If they're serious about being a major player in the smart home, owning the access point would be a valuable asset.

 

[falkon-engine]

So Broadcom is getting the Intel treatment. Does this explain why there's no Wifi 7 in the new Macs... Apple is waiting for its Wifi 7 chips to enter mass production?

Also, if Apple is making its own Wifi 7 chip, then why not also consider making an Apple AP/router ecosystem? Wireless Apple Mesh points all over the house for easy roaming from AP to AP? With 5 Gbps or 10 Gbps ethernet backhaul? Could even do it in the Apple TV, I have three in my house all connected to ethernet, would be cool if they could double as APs.

 

[nt5672]

The current half-arsed Wifi 7/6e chips Apple is using are really a shame for such ultra expensive devices. Apple can't even do 320Mhz channel Width for 6Ghz Wifi7. Apple does say that my iPhone 15 Pro and 16 Pro now support 160Mhz channel Width on 5Ghz, but still my phones only connect at 1200 Mbps link speeds on Ubiquiti U7 Pros. Which means they are still limited to 5Ghz 80Mhz width.

I really had hoped that Apple used some competent Wifi7 + Bluetooth 5.4 combo chip like QCNCM865 from Qualcomm or even Intel BE900 to run their iPhones on next gen wireless networks.

The only way Apple improves these days is if they are shamed into the improvement in the media. Lets shame them.

 

[nt5672]

I know this is a bit beside the point, but I wish Apple would get back into making wifi base stations.

If they're serious about being a major player in the smart home, owning the access point would be a valuable asset.

If Apple did that, the access points would not work with anything else. Remember Apple is now the 80s Microsoft where you can only use Apple stuff with Apple stuff.

 

[Thehangmn]

7 nm? That's huge. Make it smaller.

the broadcom chip is 7nm too. Making it smaller would also make it more expensive. what they need to ensure is that it is competitive and ideally saves them $$.

 

[PiedMyPants]

I hope this will not be a patent-troll-fest

 

[Alwis]

This convinces me to buy an iPhone 16 Pro, let others find the bugs in Apple's design. If the current quality of Apple software is any indication the new Wifi chip is probably usable in 10 years...

 

[SactoGuy18]

I wonder will the Apple WiFi 7 (802.11be) chip support the wider bandwidth available for WiFi 7. That could allow download speeds as high as 3300 megabits per second on appropriate Internet connections.

 

[pksv]

Disaster waiting to happen.
For the love of God, stick to Qualcomm and Broadcom for connectivity.

To avoid dropping the Wi-Fi connection, one must stand on one leg, rub his tummy, and hold the phone only with the pinky and index finger. #antennagate2 Wifi Snafu

and I will ensure I don't get that model.

This convinces me to buy an iPhone 16 Pro, let others find the bugs in Apple's design. If the current quality of Apple software is any indication the new Wifi chip is probably usable in 10 years...

Whenever I see such comments, I can't help but laugh. Some people believe that the current level of technological development is the absolute peak, no one can do anything better without compromise. In a year or two there will be a new, lighter MBP chassis, of course it will overheat and have a very weak battery, the iPhone Air will be a failure due to the battery, Apple's own modems will work poorly, the Mac Mini in the new housing will heat up, and so on. This group of people thinks that the most valuable company in the world does not test anything and can no longer come up with anything new and good. Comical. Have a little more imagination guys.