Apple this yr launched C1, its first in-house 5G modem, with the iPhone 16e. Nevertheless, the corporate isn’t anticipated to convey its personal modem to dearer iPhones till at the least subsequent yr. Analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities has now corroborated this rumor by saying that Apple is engaged on a brand new model of its modem for the iPhone 18 Professional fashions.
Apple’s plans for its 5G modem within the iPhone 18 Professional
In a word to buyers seen by 9to5Mac, the analyst says he expects Apple to place the “C2” chip within the iPhone 18 Professional and iPhone 18 Professional Max in 2026. This aligns with a current Bloomberg report about C2 coming subsequent yr to “higher-end iPhones.”
Apple’s C1 chip combines 4 nanometer baseband know-how with 7 nanometer transceiver know-how. As beforehand revealed by a lab check, the brand new 5G modem is rather more environment friendly and makes use of much less energy than the Qualcomm modems in different iPhones. Pu says that Apple needs to place the C1 chip within the ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air later this yr, however the firm might find yourself backtracking.
Given all these studies, it’s unclear whether or not the bottom iPhone 18 mannequin may even get the C1 chip whereas C2 shall be unique to the Professional fashions, or whether or not the inexpensive mannequin will nonetheless characteristic a Qualcomm 5G modem for an additional yr.
After all, because the modem is without doubt one of the most important elements of a cellphone, Apple most likely needs to be sure that its modem is nice sufficient to interchange Qualcomm’s modems. Though assessments present that Apple’s C1 modem within the iPhone 16e reaches comparable speeds to Qualcomm’s modems in most eventualities, it nonetheless lacks help for the upper 5G mmWave speeds.
Personally, I received’t be shocked if Apple places the C1 chip in different merchandise resembling mobile variations of the iPad and Apple Watch earlier than bringing them to extra iPhone fashions.
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