Qualcomm’s CEO has publicly stated that this year’s iPhone 15 lineup will likely be the last generation to feature its 5G modem chipsets. By 2024, it is anticipated that Apple will use an in-house modem chipset for its products.
Apple’s own 5G modem chipset will be ready in 2024
To replace the Qualcomm-supplied 5G modem chipsets, Apple has been working on a solution for a while. While there have been numerous reports regarding the timing of it, Qualcomm has previously been confirmed to remain for at least the upcoming iPhone 15.
The CEO and president of Qualcomm, Cristiano Amon, has now publicly discussed when Apple will stop using his company’s 5G modems by 2024.
“We expect that Apple will do their own modem in 2024, but if they need ours they know where to find us,” Amon said at the Tech Things event, which was presented by Joanna Stern of the Wall Street Journal at MWC 2023 in Barcelona.
Qualcomm reportedly informed its investors at one time that it would only be making modems for 20% of Apple’s 2023 iPhone release. Later, that was amended to say that range represented the “vast majority.”
In June 2022, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed that Apple has not yet been able to successfully develop its own custom 5G modem. Therefore, Qualcomm remained the sole connectivity chip supplier to the Cupertino tech giant.
It was widely believed that Apple would eventually develop its own 5G modem for upcoming iPhones when the tech giant purchased Intel’s modem division in 2019. The speculation was further solidified with the launch of the first iPhone with 5G connectivity in 2020, the iPhone 12. Since then, numerous reports have claimed that Apple is to be working on its own 5G modems for its products including iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
The tech giant initially planned to launch its in-house chip with the budget-friendly iPhone SE 4. However, there was a setback in modem development which led Apple to cancel the launch of the device.
This year’s iPhone 15 lineup is expected to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X70 modem, which was announced in May 2022.
