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Apple’s current efforts to develop modem chips — which connect devices like the iPhone to wireless data networks — have run into challenges and are likely to delay the chip’s launch. Developing its own chips to replace Qualcomm’s products is more complicated than Apple had previously thought.
According to sources familiar with the matter, Apple may miss its target of launching modem chips in spring 2025, possibly pushing it back to late 2025 or early 2026. This is also the last year of Apple's current contract with Qualcomm.
Despite mobilizing thousands of employees for this project since 2018, it may take Apple a few more years to solve the challenges in carrying out this "difficult" job.
Apple aims to create a modem chip that can download data faster than Qalcomm's current technology, but based on the current state of chip development, observers say this is difficult to achieve.
Apple began developing its own modem chips five years ago, hiring engineers in San Diego, Qualcomm’s hometown. It later bought Intel Corp.’s modem chip manufacturing business in a $1 billion deal to bolster those efforts.
Apple’s chip development woes were really exposed in September when Qualcomm announced that it would continue supplying chips to Apple. While Apple’s efforts have stalled, Qualcomm remains confident in its market position, expecting to supply at least some of Apple’s modem chip needs through 2026.
The modem chip project is one of Apple's important efforts, with the participation of teams in charge of different functions. Apple plans to gradually introduce its own modem chips into iPads and smartwatches after introducing them into iPhones.
However, the first version of the modem developed by Apple is expected to lag behind competitors, lacking support for millimeter wave technology that enables faster 5G speeds.
According to VNA