Apple likely to include its in-house 5G modems in iPhones soon: Here’s what we know so far

Apple has been said to be working on developing its in-house 5G modems for a long-time. Some reports suggested that Apple could introduce its 5G modem in the iPhone 14 series last year. However, that plan didn’t materialise owing to a number of issues that the company encountered at the time. Now, a new report says that TSMC will build the in-house 5G modem for Apple. The report also says that TSMC will use its 3nm process for the same.

According to a report by Commercial Times (via GizmoChina), Apple will use a large of TSMC’s 3nm process capacity to manufacture its own 5G modems. The report quoting supply chain sources said that TSMC will begin the risk production of the Apple 5G modem in the second half of this year. For the unversed, risk production is a stage wherein a foundry builds a small amount of chips while gradually ironing out the issues that it encounters. In the following stage, that is, volume production, it gradually increases the yields.

Now, the report says that TSMC will begin risk production process of Apple’s 5G modems in the second half of 2023, before going for volume production in 2024. This means that Apple’s 2024 iPhone models, that is, the iPhone 16 series, is likely to come with Apple’s in-house 5G modems. There is also a possibility that Apple restricts its in-house 5G chip to select iPhone models next year or introduces it in its iPads first. This also means that the company could be using Qualcomm’s 5G modems in the iPhone 15 series that will arrive next year.

Apart from this, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, while speaking on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023, that concluded earlier this month said Apple’s 5G chip could be ready next year. “We expect that Apple will do their own modem in 2024, but if they need ours, they know where to find us,” he said Amon in an interview with The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern.

As far as Apple’s 2023 iPhone models are concerned, reports suggest that Apple could use Qualcomm’s X70 5G modems in the iPhone 15 series models that will arrive sometime in September this year. The X70 modems offer better speed and efficiency compared to the X65 modems that were available in the last year’s iPhone 14 modems.

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