Apple’s 5G modem isn’t just of interest to Apple. Apple’s 5G modem, which should almost definitively untie Apple from Qualcomm – both partner and rival – could generate a new ecosystem, allowing various third-party suppliers to profit from this new component. Why and who reports the Taiwanese newspaper DigiTimes in an article in which it tells how Apple’s custom-designed modem will probably be produced by its partner TSMC but other subcontractors should take care of the packaging.
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Among the companies interested in Apple’s chip-modem are ASE Technology and Amkor Technology, competing to take care of the chip-modem package. The two companies in question would already have experience in this area with Qualcomm.
Qualcomm is currently the exclusive supplier of the 5G modem chip for Apple devices, including the entire iPhone 14 lineup. It has long been rumored that Apple aims to produce its own 5G modem chip “in-house”, limiting its dependence on the company American, now also interested in producing processors capable of challenging those found in iPhones and Macs, a step that would favor Apple’s Android competitors.
Last month, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said he expects Apple to be ready with its own dedicated chipset by 2024; Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believes that more time will be needed and that the “homemade” chip-modem and its complete transition could take another three years.
The first device with Apple’s integrated modem chip should be the fourth generation iPhone SE which Cupertino could release in the spring of 2024.
What remains to be seen is the performance offered by the chip-modem designed “in-house” by Apple, while obviously eliminating a supplier would reduce the cost of the chip itself and royalties.
In 2019, Apple and Qualcomm ended all ongoing legal disputes, including those with Apple’s subcontractors. The two companies also entered into a six-year licensing agreement, valid from April 1, 2019 and with the possibility of extension for an additional two years, and a multi-year agreement for the supply of chipsets.
Apple, we recall, in 2019 bought the Intel division that dealt with the development of chip-modems, and for years it has been dealing with the development of this module.
