The iPhone 17 might use Apple’s own Wi-Fi chips

By wazup on October 31, 2024 Comments Closed / 26 views

Apple will reportedly phase in house-made modems even earlier than that.

By Allison Johnson, a reviewer with 10 years of experience writing about consumer tech. She has a special interest in mobile photography and telecom. Previously, she worked at DPReview.

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Apple’s journey to making its own wireless chips has been a long one, but the end might be in sight. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo posted on X that Apple’s switch to its own in-house Wi-Fi / Bluetooth chips will start with the iPhone 17 in the second half of next year.

Kuo also agrees with 9to5Mac’s report that the iPhone SE 4, expected in spring of 2025, will be the first device to use Apple’s own homemade 5G modem. He says that the SE will continue using a third-party Wi-Fi chip made by Broadcom, and that the iPhone 17 will be the first device to use both an Apple-made modem and Wi-Fi chip.

Modems are hard, apparently. Apple has been trying to get away from using Qualcomm’s RF modems since at least 2019, when it bought Intel’s modem division. That’s because Apple famously likes to control its own destiny, and also, Qualcomm and Apple hate each other’s guts. According to reports, the iPhone 15 was supposed to be the first Apple phone with the new modem, but that proved to be an unrealistic target. The modem wasn’t ready for this year’s iPhones either.

The budget-friendly iPhone SE series is due for a serious upgrade, and it looks like Apple intends to add a lot more than just a new custom modem. Rumors suggest it will come with an OLED screen for the first time, Face ID, and will support Apple Intelligence. But those aren’t the only upgrades it might see: a higher price tag could be in the cards, too.