Apple may use internal 5G modems in future iPhones, iPads

Apple is reportedly in talks with Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing giant TSMC to produce its own company. 5G chips for next-generation Apple products. According to Nikkei Asia, the move is primarily aimed at reducing Apple’s reliance on Qualcomm for 5G cellular chips.

Apple’s first generation in-house 5G modems are likely to be based on TSMC’s new 4nm manufacturing process. When developed, the chip will incorporate components designed by Apple for radio frequency and millimeter waves. Apple has also started work on a power management chip specifically designed to work with this modem. However, mass production of these Apple 5G modems will only start in 2023.

While Apple has been designing its own systems on chips (SoC) for more than a decade, the company has generally avoided making cellular modems. The current crop of iPhones and iPads use Qualcomm’s 5G-capable modems, supplied as part of a six-year agreement the two companies signed in 2019. While Apple’s deal with Qualcomm won’t end until 2025, Apple has already established the foundations to ensure that you will have your internal modem ready for years to come.

As part of its long-term plan, Apple first settled down all patent disputes with Qualcomm and signed the aforementioned long-term agreement. Months later, too acquired Intel’s beleaguered $ 1 billion smartphone modem business. The latter gave him access to a veritable gold mine of more than 17,000 patents related to wireless technology. These patents include crucial protocols for cellular standards and modem architecture.

Initial development costs aside, the benefits of moving to internal chips are numerous. In addition to giving Apple even more control over hardware integration, it would significantly lower the cost of manufacturing. While Apple is unlikely to pass these savings on to consumers, tighter hardware integration, in Apple’s case, has generally resulted in massive performance gains. It remains to be seen if this will be the case with Apple’s internal modems as well.

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