Apple has reportedly abandoned plans to develop a 5G cellular chip for the iPhone and its other devices. At least that’s the rumor going around from a source who is often well informed. But is this even possible?
Since 2019 and the purchase of the Intel division responsible for developing a cellular network access chip, it is clear that Apple is developing its own modem. The objective is to get rid of the cumbersome supplier Qualcomm with which the computer manufacturer is associated until 2026. And perhaps much more…
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The difficulty of designing a modem
On the Korean web portal Naver, the indiscretions aggregator Eyes1122 — which sometimes has good information — explains thatApple would simply have decided to “liquidate” its investments in 5G chip development. More precisely, attempts to integrate the modem into the future 4th generation iPhone SE would have fallen through.
Rumor had it that Apple would test the capabilities of this chip in its entry-level smartphone, less exposed than the manufacturer’s other smartphones, with a launch more or less scheduled for 2025. But designing a 5G modem is not not an easy task: it took decades of hard work for Qualcomm to rise to the top of the suppliers of this type of chip.
Read Apple’s cellular chip could still be delayed
However, it is difficult to imagine that Apple would simply abandon such a development, knowing that the ambition was then to design a chip combining access to the cellular network with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. This is why you have to take these indiscretions with a grain of salt. Either way, Qualcomm must certainly be rubbing its hands as it prepares to supply its chips to Apple for a few more years.
Source :
MacRumors