sortiwa
The big picture: Apple debuted the iPhone 16e earlier this week, featuring the company’s first in-house 5G modem. Cupertino won’t likely use it in the upcoming iPhone 17 lineup, but the company reportedly has a new in-house Wi-Fi chip planned for its next-gen flagship.
Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple has developed an in-house Wi-Fi chipset to debut in the iPhone 17. He also confirmed that the recently unveiled C1 5G modem, featured in the iPhone 16e, won’t appear in the iPhone 17 flagships. However, it will handle cellular connectivity in the iPhone 17 Air, while the rest of the lineup sticks with Qualcomm modules.
This leak is not the first we’ve heard regarding the iPhone 17 shipping with an Apple-designed Wi-Fi chip. Last October, Kuo predicted that at least one of the four iPhone 17 models would include the new chip and that it would support the Wi-Fi 7 standard.
Following Qualcomm, Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chips will also be replaced by Apple’s in-house chips at a faster pace. My latest industry survey indicates that all new 2H25 iPhone 17 models will feature Apple’s in-house Wi-Fi chips (vs. only the slim iPhone 17 will adopt Apple’s C1 modem…
– 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) February 20, 2025
Last year, Jeff Pu, an analyst familiar with Apple’s supply chain, predicted that Apple would debut an in-house Wi-Fi module in 2025. However, he stated that only the iPhone 17 Pro models would feature the new silicon, with the non-Pro variants keeping the Broadcom chips found in other Apple products.
Apple currently uses Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips from Broadcom in all its iPhones, iPads, and Macs. However, the company has been developing new Wi-Fi modules to further its plan to become completely silicon-independent. Apple’s overall goal is to save money while facilitating better hardware and software integration.
Cupertino engineers have pushed for tighter integration between devices for years, and its user base enjoys how seamlessly everything works together. While there are still some hiccups in its ecosystem – especially where connectivity is concerned – designing components specifically for its devices helps smooth out these obstacles.
Apple stopped using third-party chipmaker Qualcomm’s mobile SoCs in iPhones and iPads over a decade ago. The company has also transitioned its entire Mac lineup from Intel’s x86 processors to in-house Arm-based silicon. Now, Apple is developing wireless connectivity chips to ensure every component it uses is Apple-designed. Its plans are almost complete.
Source link