The stakes are high as Apple hopes to replace Qualcomm’s 5G iPhone modem،
The 5G era is still relatively new and even those with 5G-enabled phones still can’t connect to the fastest 5G signals due to the short distances traveled by high-band waves (mmWave). As a result, the fastest 5G experience most consumers experience is the fast, but not the fastest, connection to carriers’ mid-band signals. While no one is complaining, some of the amazing things we’ve come to expect from 5G, like autonomous vehicles and remote operations, aren’t yet available to the general public.
Apple’s iPhone 15 series features Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X70 5G modem
Gurman raises some positive points about Apple’s attempt to build its own 5G modem chip, some of which we have voiced ourselves. One of them, of course, is Apple’s desire to end its reliance on Qualcomm, given that there have been several legal issues between the companies over the years, including accusations of patent infringement and much more. Apple has a lot to do on this given the important role the modem plays on the iPhone.
Apple hopes that in addition to ending its reliance on Qualcomm for this key part of the iPhone, designing and building its own modem would allow the company to develop special technology and features developed for the iPhone. This would also save Apple money since it wouldn’t need to pay Qualcomm both its licensing fees and the price of the chips (remember the “no license, no chips” policy » from Qualcomm).