Kuo: iPhone 17 to Use Apple’s In-House Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Chips
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Apple has likely finished its 2024 release schedule, so it’s time to start looking forward to the Cupertino tech giant’s 2025 product lineup. Now comes word from Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who says Apple plans to use its own in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips across next year’s iPhone lineup.
From Ming-Chi Kuo’s post on X:
Broadcom currently supplies over 300 million Wi-Fi+BT chips (hereafter referred to as Wi-Fi chips) per year to Apple. However, Apple will rapidly reduce its reliance on Broadcom. With new products in 2H25 (e.g., iPhone 17), Apple plans to use its own Wi-Fi chips, which will be made by TSMC’s N7 process and support the latest Wi-Fi 7 spec. Apple expects to move nearly all products to in-house Wi-Fi chips within about three years. This move will reduce costs and enhance Apple’s ecosystem integration advantages.
Kuo had previously said that Apple would first use a new in-house 5G chip in its upcoming “iPhone 17 Air” and iPhone SE 4 next year. If Apple uses separate chips for 5G and Wi-Fi, the 5G chip could be used for only the iPhone SE 4 and iPhone 17 Air, while the Wi-Fi chip would be used in devices set for the second half of 2025.
Kuo later cleared things up a bit with another X post:
Starting from 2H25, both Apple’s 5G and Wi-Fi chips will gradually be used in new products simultaneously. However, since these are two different chips (using different TSMC processes), the early switch-over timelines will differ due to separate production schedules. For example, the iPhone SE4 will move to an Apple 5G modem but still use a Broadcom Wi-Fi chip.
Meanwhile, a report by 9to5Mac from early October said the new chip to be used in the iPhone SE would not only handle the 5G chores but also Wi-FI, Bluetooth, and GPS connectivity.
In September, we told you about a report from the Taiwanese industry publication DigiTimes that claimed Apple’s first self-developed 5G modems may lack mmWave support and that Apple’s rumored first in-house Wi-Fi chip will be used in some iPad models in 2025.
If that is true, Apple will likely continue to use Qualcomm 5G modems, which support mmWave, for upcoming iPhone releases until it can add mmWave support.
mmWave is a high-frequency 5G band that provides blazingly fast connection speeds over short distances, making it ideal for urban areas. Meanwhile, although sub-6GHz 5G provides slower connection speeds than mmWave, the signal travels longer distances, making it a better connectivity solution for suburban and rural areas.
Apple’s current iPhone 16 lineup continues to use Qualcomm modems. Earlier this year, Apple extended its 5G modem supply contract with Qualcomm, which now runs until at least 2026, allowing Apple plenty of time to work things out with its 5G modems.
In July 2019, Apple acquired Intel’s smartphone modem business to help boost its plan to manufacture its own 5G modems. The transaction was valued at $1 billion. At the time of the purchase, Apple said it would “help expedite our development on future products and allow Apple to further differentiate moving forward.”
However, In November 2023, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Apple is still “years away” from manufacturing a 5G modem chip that could compete with Qualcomm’s modems.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]
