Is Apple’s In-House 5G Modem Still in the Cards?
3 min readRenewed Partnership with Qualcomm for 3 More Years: Is Apple’s In-House 5G Modem Still in the Cards?
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Renewed Partnership with Qualcomm for 3 More Years: Is Apple’s In-House 5G Modem Still in the Cards?
On September 11th, Qualcomm announced that it has once again reached a licensing and supply agreement with Apple.
Under this agreement, Qualcomm will provide Snapdragon 5G modems and RF systems for Apple’s smartphones scheduled for release in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Qualcomm stated that this agreement further solidifies its leadership position in the field of 5G technology and products.
In response to this news, Qualcomm’s stock price surged by over 8% in pre-market trading.
Renewed Partnership with Qualcomm for 3 More Years: Is Apple’s In-House 5G Modem Still in the Cards?
In recent years, Apple has been working on developing its own 5G modem chips in an effort to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm. However, these efforts have yet to yield success.
As far back as 2017, Apple accused Qualcomm of abusing its monopoly position in the communication modem chip industry, charging exorbitant patent licensing fees. Apple filed lawsuits against Qualcomm in the United States and the United Kingdom, refusing to pay Qualcomm’s patent licensing fees.
Subsequently, a full-blown patent dispute erupted between Apple and Qualcomm, leading to global litigation and a sharp deterioration in their relationship. During this period, Apple reduced its use of Qualcomm modem chips and began shifting towards Intel’s modem chips. Simultaneously, Apple actively pursued in-house modem chip development.
On April 16, 2019, Apple and Qualcomm ended their years-long patent litigation dispute and reached a settlement, dropping all lawsuits. Apple agreed to pay Qualcomm a substantial fee (at least $4.5 billion) and signed a new 6-year patent licensing agreement (effective from April 1, 2019, with the option to extend for 2 years).
On the same day, Intel also announced it was exiting the development of smartphone modem chips.
A few months later, in July 2019, Apple announced its acquisition of “the majority” of Intel’s smartphone modem chip business for $1 billion, indicating its intention to use its in-house modem chips in the future. Prior to this, Intel had already developed 5G modem chips, but they didn’t meet Apple’s requirements, leading to their sale to Apple.
Therefore, it was widely believed that Apple’s acquisition of Intel’s smartphone modem business would accelerate the development of Apple’s in-house 5G modem chips.
According to a document published by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) in February 2020, Apple was obligated to purchase Qualcomm’s 5G modems at least until 2024.
The document stated that from June 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021, Apple would use the Snapdragon X55 modem, from June 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022, it would use the Snapdragon X60, and from June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2024, it would use either the Snapdragon X65 or X70.
In other words, the previous agreement between Apple and Qualcomm was set to expire by the end of May 2024. However, based on current information, Apple’s in-house 5G modem chip is not yet ready.
According to the latest predictions from Tianfeng Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple is unlikely to start using its in-house 5G modem chips until 2025 at the earliest.
The new supply agreement for 5G modem chips between Qualcomm and Apple has been extended until 2026, suggesting that the launch of Apple’s in-house 5G modem chips may be delayed beyond the expected 2025 timeframe.
Of course, Apple could still introduce its in-house 5G modem chips in 2025, possibly starting with the iPhone SE series or the standard version of the iPhone 17. The high-end Pro versions may continue to use Qualcomm’s 5G modem chips, with a gradual transition in 2026 and full replacement by 2027.
Renewed Partnership with Qualcomm for 3 More Years: Is Apple’s In-House 5G Modem Still in the Cards?
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