It has been over 5 years since Apple bought Intel’s modem division and patents, and in all that point it hasn’t managed to ship a product. Now, in keeping with a new report from Bloomberg, the corporate is lastly able to convey its first 5G modem to market.
Don’t count on Apple to topple the modem big Qualcomm, although—a minimum of not for some time. Apple plans to roll out more and more extra succesful modems over the subsequent three years. Apple has suffered quite a lot of setbacks in getting its modem to market, however supposedly has “a whole lot” of check telephones now the world over, working with carriers to do QA testing, which suggests it’s prone to lastly come to market this spring within the iPhone SE.
The primary modem is code-named Sinope, and helps solely sub-6 GHz community frequencies, not the quicker mmWave networks. It’s behind Qualcomm’s finest in different methods, too: it helps solely four-carrier aggregation (Qualcomm’s modems help 6 or extra) and tops out at 4 gigabits per second (Gbps) in lab assessments, nicely behind the very best Qualcomm modems in at the moment’s iPhones. In fact, real-world efficiency is much decrease, anyway.
Together with the iPhone SE this spring, that mannequin can be slated for the brand new iPhone 17 Air (as some are calling the brand new mid-range ultra-thin iPhone due for launch within the fall of 2025). It would have some benefits over utilizing Qualcomm’s modems—tighter integration with Apple’s processors ought to scale back energy use, and it’s mentioned to scan for mobile indicators extra effectively and higher help connections to satellite tv for pc networks.
In 2026 with the iPhone 18 (and a few high-end iPads via 2027), we must always see the subsequent modem, code-named Ganymede. It’s mentioned to catch as much as the present Qualcomm modems with mmWave help and higher service aggregation, and most speeds of 6Gbps. In fact, Qualcomm may have higher modems in the marketplace by then, so Apple will nonetheless be behind in some methods.
The third modem, due for high-end iPhones and iPads beginning in 2027, is code-named Prometheus. The report claims that Apple believes it could actually beat Qualcomm with a mix of higher part efficiency, AI options, and next-gen satellite tv for pc connectivity.
