For several years, Apple has been developing its own modem to reduce its vulnerability to Qualcomm. THE Bloomberg according to information, the self-developed modem may appear in the devices of the American company in 2024, and the paper adds that Apple wants to replace Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections with self-developed chips within a year. Currently, Apple’s products rely on Broadcom’s advances in wireless connectivity.
Apple and Qualcomm fought a long and ugly legal battle over their disagreements over licenses, patents and royalties related to modem chips, in which the two companies finally managed to reach an agreement in 2019. At that time, Apple made it clear that it would focus on the creation of self-developed modems for iPad and iPhone devices, and shortly afterwards the company acquired Intel’s modem business. Regardless, due to some patents, Apple will still have to pay Qualcomm and Ericsson if they switch to a modem of their own design. During the legal battles, Apple also made an experiment with Intel modems, the result of which was generally poorer performance.
For now, we hear only rumors about Apple’s self-developed 5G modem. (source: MacRumors) [+]
In order to break away from Broadcom, Apple is reportedly planning an integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, but its premiere is not predicted until 2025. THE Bloomberg according to sources, the final plan is for Apple to integrate all wireless network connections into a chip of its own design. The issue of complete independence is not clear here either, because iPhones also use a radio frequency module and components for wireless charging that come from Broadcom.
