... you base this post on what information exactly? Seriously, curious to learn.
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TSMC to Begin Producing Apple-Designed 5G Modems for iPhones in 2023
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When's the last time apple introduced a new technology that wasn't ready and have great performance?
did you know that the 2nd is also a beta, 3rd also a beta… wait for the 4th.. or the 5th.. or the 6th?
I supect that apples long term plan probably is to build the midem into the soc ( at least for the socs headed for iphones) that whay they can probably squize a few extra complete phones from a single silicone wafer tgan by oridusing them separately also reduce complexity on the iPhones motherboard , and anyway cutyng out a layer of profit ( ie qualcomms) leaves more for apple
Ignorant take. All 5G modems suck at the moment, none of them are battery-efficient. Just like the frist few generations of the 4G modems. Apple only has to design to a spec that suits Apple devices, so it can be 'better'. 5G coverage still sucks and will keep sucking for a few years. Speeds are iffy, and depending on where you are, comparable to 4G. Alle Apple has to do is make a more battery-efficient modem and it's done. Nobody, except tech-nerds, cares about a download being 1 or 5 seconds slower.The Intel modem team, aka the Junior Varsity squad of modem development, will be back in the 2023 iPhones... all so Tim Cook can save a few bucks. Apple's customers, as usual, are the ones who suffer with inevitably worse power consumption and poor connectivity. It's like the iPhone 7 all over again...
Apple Reportedly Throttling iPhone 7 Models With Qualcomm Modems To Match Versions With Intel Modems
This week, a report ousted Apple's decision to throttle the Qualcomm modem found in most of its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models to match the performance of the Intel modem found in other versions. Now, according to sources close to the matter, it's absolutely the case but is there a real...hothardware.com
And...
iPhone X Models With Qualcomm Modem Still Have Faster LTE Speeds Than Those With Intel Modems
iPhone X models equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X16 modem get consistently better LTE speeds than versions with Intel's XMM7480 modem,...www.macrumors.com
Or the intel fiasco. I'll pass on the 1st few rounds and take the wait and see approach.
It will be interesting to see if this works because the last time Apple tried this, the performance of their modem chips were terrible (MR reported about this a number of years ago). Intel tried and failed to produce a modem chip for Apple which resulted in Intel closing down it's modem chip business of which Apple subsequently purchased. So it will also be interesting to see if Qualcomm accuse Apple of using it's patents in this 5G modem chip because Qualcomm hold some very good patents on mobile phone modem technology which makes their modems very good.
This Apple and TSMC joint venture has been quite the explosive combination isn’t it?
But they will, they have gotten in the way before and will continue to do so.
Is there a TLDR version of what goes behind the curtains here? CPU/GPU “feature this and that” gets a whole lot more coverage than the modems, so I don’t know if/why what Qualcomm has is better and hard to beat… it definitely is something, because even Intel didn’t manage to deal with that branch of the business.
A lot of the antitrust and antimonopoly storylines focus on “we do this because it is what’s best for the costumer”, yet I don’t see how halting and getting in the way of the most miniaturized, most power efficient, highly performant tailor made hardware with ever decreasing costs (let’s remember that first laptops would be like $10K or $20K in today’s dollars) is in the best interest of the costumer and technology advancement in generals.
But they will, they have gotten in the way before and will continue to do so.
I agree. The iPhone 7 modem issue was very troublesome for a quite a while after the phone launched. For the first month of owning one my cell service kept dropping and I would receive no service errors in areas that had service. This may have had to do with the cell carriers. Because Qualcomm is used in Apple and Android devices I feel the cell carriers make certain their equipment will work well with Qualcomm modems.The Intel modem team, aka the Junior Varsity squad of modem development, will be back in the 2023 iPhones... all so Tim Cook can save a few bucks. Apple's customers, as usual, are the ones who suffer with inevitably worse power consumption and poor connectivity. It's like the iPhone 7 all over again...
Apple Reportedly Throttling iPhone 7 Models With Qualcomm Modems To Match Versions With Intel Modems
This week, a report ousted Apple's decision to throttle the Qualcomm modem found in most of its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus models to match the performance of the Intel modem found in other versions. Now, according to sources close to the matter, it's absolutely the case but is there a real...
And...
iPhone X Models With Qualcomm Modem Still Have Faster LTE Speeds Than Those With Intel Modems
iPhone X models equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X16 modem get consistently better LTE speeds than versions with Intel's XMM7480 modem,...
Considering that Apple has a licensing deal with Qualcomm until 2025, it stands to reason that Apple will introduce their own modems only when they can at least match Qualcomm modems in terms of performance. What will likely happen is that Apple will simply include their own modems in all new iPhone models from 2023 moving forward. Older models will stick with Qualcomm modems, but they will form an increasingly small mix of iPhones sold overall.
When comparing Apple's previous attempts use modems other than QCOM, keep in mind those modems were designed by Intel and built on Intel's semiconductor processes. Some of Intels older modems were actually built by TSMC.
Now you have a highly experienced team of Apple (PA Semi), former Intel employees, and TSMC working together. I am sure they will use their collective experience, both good and bad, when designing the new modems.
en.wikipedia.org
Now you have a highly experienced team of Apple (PA Semi), former Intel employees, and TSMC working together. I am sure they will use their collective experience, both good and bad, when designing the new modems.
Intel XMM modems - Wikipedia
Came to say the same thing, I think the reason this hasn’t happened yet is partly power draw but mainly cost, once apple pays of the development with the iPhone the this is a logically next step.
Could it even become part of the SoC going forward?
I hope the future Mac + Cellular will mean my telco will offer Macs on a 24/36/48/60/72 month contract.
So imagine amortizing a $2,499 MBP 16" M2 Pro + data service
So imagine amortizing a $2,499 MBP 16" M2 Pro + data service
- $104.13/mo. for 24 months
- $69.42/mo. for 36 months
- $52.06/mo. for 48 months
- $41.65/mo. for 60 months
- $34.71/mo. for 72 months
lmaooo why can Apple do nothing these days? can’t make their own chips, advertise the apps in their App Store etc etc… their success is everyone else’s failure it seems.
the competition and the regulators are super annoying at this point.
Only if management starts bingeing on crack or China invades.
Making a cellular modem chip is not easy. Ask intel. Qualcomm has been doing it for a long time, thus they're the "gold standard."
I do hope for the best for Apple. Competition is needed, and Qualcomm's domination is not good for the market. Of course, as usual, first iteration of anything Apple usually has issues. All I hope is that Apple doesn't have the bias of developed markets, where cellular coverage and signal tend to not be an issue. Hopefully Apple can see the challenges in emerging markets, where tower congestion and lackluster coverage or bandwidth is the norm.
I do hope for the best for Apple. Competition is needed, and Qualcomm's domination is not good for the market. Of course, as usual, first iteration of anything Apple usually has issues. All I hope is that Apple doesn't have the bias of developed markets, where cellular coverage and signal tend to not be an issue. Hopefully Apple can see the challenges in emerging markets, where tower congestion and lackluster coverage or bandwidth is the norm.
What does 5G have to do with the iPhone 7 and iPhone X intel modems? Those were not early gen LTE modems no matter how you try to spin it. The 7 had intel's 4th gen LTE modem. The X had a 5th gen LTE modem.
Isn’t the cost due to Qualcomm’s patent licensing that is based on total cost of the device (phone, laptop, etc.) the cell modem is built into?
I had the same thought, but I’m not so sure it will happen at launch.
"We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in." —Palm CEO Ed Colligan, Nov. 2006.
Whatever it is about Apple, the company seems to have this instinct for coming at a given product or idea from an angle nobody expects. I imagine this won't just be a replacement communication chip but one that reframes things in a way that makes Qualcomm look like something from the 80s. Hopefully, for the sake of everyone at Qualcomm, the execs there have looked at Apple's history and realize this is not a time to be sitting back and taking it easy. We'll see.