According to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, Apple may begin integrating its proprietary modem chip into its smartphones as early as 2025. The company has been developing its own modem technology for several years in an effort to reduce reliance on Qualcomm’s chips. However, it has encountered numerous challenges that have resulted in delays. Even if Apple manages to launch a new modem with an upcoming iPhone model next year, it may take several years before the technology offers significant advantages to consumers.
In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman elaborates on the progress of Apple’s modem chip, indicating that its release has been postponed “until next year at the earliest” due to concerns regarding overheating and performance issues. Consequently, the forthcoming iPhone 16 series, anticipated to be released in the next few months, is likely to feature a Qualcomm modem.
Gurman further notes that the introduction of the new modem will be gradual, initially appearing in “niche models.” This implies that the widespread adoption of this technology across all iPhone models may take several years.
Recently, TF Securities International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that the iPhone SE 4 and a “slim” variant within the expected iPhone 17 series—set to debut in Q1 2025 and Q3 2025, respectively—will incorporate Apple’s proprietary technology.
While transitioning from Qualcomm modems to its own may allow Apple to reduce costs to some degree (though it may still incur some royalty payments to Qualcomm), Gurman asserts that it will take years before Apple’s chip delivers noticeable improvements over the current Qualcomm-sourced components.
Should Apple’s initiative to equip future iPhone models with its own modem prove successful, the company could ultimately integrate it with its system on a chip (SoC), thereby increasing the available space within an iPhone for new or larger components.
