Apple May Use In-House Modems In iPhone Line In 2024, Says Qualcomm CEO Christiano Amon

Apple acquired Intel’s modem business in 2019 and there had been speculation it would begin using in-house parts in 2023.

iPhones may not come with Apple's own modems next year, says a report by CNBC. The tech giant acquired Intel’s modem business in 2019 and there had been speculation it would begin using in-house parts in 2023. Last year's iPhone 14 models come equipped with Qualcomm modems, but the chip making giant has been mulling go solo in the wireless connectivity market since quite a while.

The iPhone maker is moving to in-house 5G modem chips for its 2024 iPhones, as far as the chief executive of Qualcomm Cristiano Amon — which currently produces them for the tech giant — is aware, the report added. Amon noted that Qualcomm had told investors back in 2021 that it did not expect to provide modems for the iPhone in 2023, but Apple then decided to continue for another year, according to an interview by CNBC at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023.

It is pertinent to note that famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TFI International Securities had said that Apple had cancelled the fourth generation of its iPhone SE line. However, last month, the analyst mentioned in a tweet that the phone is back on track and may use the first of Apple's internally developed modems, or 5G baseband chips.

The Qualcomm CEO did not confirm whether Apple would pay Qualcomm QTL licenses if it makes a shift to its own modems. Amon, however, mentioned that royalty was “independent from providing a chip.”

Meanwhile, according to a previous report by Android Authority, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip may come with a new configuration and the chipset is said to have the codename “Lanai”. The internal model number of the chip is SM8650, and it is likely to have a 1+5+2 core configuration. The recently launched Samsung’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy customised SoC uses a 1+4+3 configuration.

The San Diego, California-based Qualcomm is likely to source the manufacturing of Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chips to TSMC and Samsung. TSMC is likely to get the majority of chipset orders built on the 3-nm process because of the incredibly high 80 per cent yield rate, said a previous report by GSMArena.