Apple is working on introducing its first in-house 5G modem with its 2023 iPhone models. This will be a result of Apple’s acquisition of a majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business in 2019, and will help the company move away from using Qualcomm modems in its products in the future. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple is well on its way to introduce its first-generation 5G chip in 2023 iPhones.
Apple’s in-house 5G mode to launch with 2023 iPhones
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote a new note to investors today in which he claims that Apple is eager to move to its own custom 5G baseband chip. Once Apple is able to successfully roll out its own 5G chip, it will be the end of Qualcomm’s chips in iPhones and likely iPads in the future.
We predict that the iPhone will adopt Apple’s own design 5G baseband chips in 2023 at the earliest. As Android sales in the high-end 5G phone market are sluggish, Qualcomm will be forced to compete for more orders in the low-end market to compensate for Apple’s order loss. When the supply constraints improve, MediaTek and Qualcomm will have less bargaining power over brands, resulting in significantly higher competitive pressure in the mid-to low- end market.
Although it has been a known fact that Apple is working on its 5G modem, Barclays analysts had also reported in March that the company is aiming for a 2023 roll-out. 2022 iPhones will still rely on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X65 modem.
Apple’s reason for ditching Intel’s modems for its iPhones, and switching back to Qualcomm was because the company was not happy with Intel’s modems. Even though Apple and Intel were working together on their first 5G modem, the results were not satisfactory, and Johny Srouji was known to be fed up. This led to the cancellation of Intel’s 5G modem efforts, and ultimately Intel’s majority modem business acquisition by Apple.
via MacRumors
