Apple has extended its licence agreement with Qualcomm for modem chips through March 2027, Qualcomm said today during its first earnings report for 2024. Apple’s existing deal has been extended for two years, so we can expect Qualcomm modems to appear in the next few iPhone generations.
For the past few years, Apple has been working on developing its own 5G modem chip in-house. The technology would eliminate the need for the company to rely on Qualcomm to make 5G chips, but Apple’s progress has suffered several delays.
In November 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple’s work on the modem chip had been delayed until late 2025 or 2026, and it was possible that it could experience further delays. Initially, the tech giant planned to release a modem chip of its development by 2024 but did not make it to this deadline. The company then wanted to introduce a modem chip in the iPhone SE, which will hit the market in the spring of 2025, but it will not be able to achieve this goal either. Gurman said at the time that Apple has been unable to create a chip that will perform as well or better than Qualcomm’s chips for “years.”
Apple has reportedly run into problems with Intel code, which it has been using since acquiring Intel’s modem chip business. Apple had to rewrite the code, and adding new features broke existing ones. Apple must also avoid infringing Qualcomm’s patents when developing its modems.
According to rumours, future iPhone 16 Pro models, which will be released in 2024, will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem with improved frequency aggregation and a more energy-efficient transceiver.
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