Apple Is Abandoning Its In-House 5G Modem Project, Qualcomm to Continue Supplying Chips for iPhones
Apple is apparently dropping the ball with its in-house 5G modem development after multiple reports have surfaced online claiming that the Cupertino tech giant is in deep waters with its modem business and may abandon the whole project altogether.
Back in 2019, Apple acquired the majority of Intel’s modem business, expecting to bring cellular chip development in-house. But within that time, the company faced many challenges, including overly ambitious goals and improper understanding of the mounted challenges that resulted in repeated delays in the release of its modem.
Now, according to yeux1122 on Naver, Apple will be streamlining its approach to developing in-house 5G modems. What this means is that the company will be pushing back on its years of investment in the sector and probably may as well abandon the project fully. Revegnus on X has also stated that he’s heard similar news from external Japanese supply chain sources.
It is said that Apple has entered the phase of reorganizing its continued investment in its own 5G modem development department and personnel over the past few years .
In other words, attempts to install it in the 4th generation iPhone SE or to develop its own modem appear to have failed and are expected to be completely eliminated.
yeux1122 via Naver
Apple had initially planned to release its in-house modem by Fall 2023 in an attempt to break free of Qualcomm‘s stronghold in this sector. This move included hiring professionals from Qualcomm itself aside from the Intel’s modem business acquisition, which gave Apple over 2,200 engineers on its side.
While the source on Naver may be questionable, Mark Gurman from Bloomberg reported earlier this month that Apple is having trouble implementing its in-house 5G modem technology within its iPhone lineup and because of that the release of its own cellular chips may be delayed to 2025 or 2026. This delay was further confirmed when Qualcomm made an agreement with Apple to supply 5G modem chips for smartphone launches till 2026.
This means that Apple will highly likely be not implementing its own tech in the iPhone SE 4 expected to release in 2024. This is all we know for now, but rest assured that we will keep you updated as new information becomes available.
