Confusion reigns about the future of Apple's 5G modem project

Apple has been trying to make its own 5G modem for the iPhone

A new leak appears to claim that Apple is ditching its plans to produce its own 5G iPhone modem, but the claim may just mean that the first effort is complete.

Apple's iPhone currently uses 5G modems made by Qualcomm, and it is expected to continue doing so until 2026. It has, though, been working on producing its own 5G modem for some years, and it has previously been claimed that it has been having difficulties with the project.

Now a new report relayed by regular leaker yeux1122, says (in translation) that Apple is "clearing up" its development.

"It is said that Apple has entered the stage of clearing up its ongoing investment in its 5G modem development department and workforce, which it has been developing in-house in recent years," says the report. "In other words, it is expected that it will be installed in the 4th generation of the iPhone SE or later attempts to develop its own modem will be unsuccessful and will be fully cleaned up."

That post by yeuz1122 has been tweeted by leaker Tech_Reve on Twitter/X, who claims "multiple sources" are saying the same thing.

"This suggests that attempts to incorporate Apple's in-house modem in the upcoming iPhone SE 4th generation or any subsequent efforts for in-house modem integration have seemingly failed," writes Tech_Reve, "and a complete abandonment is anticipated."

It's possible that it is because of machine translation that reports are unclear. But as described by yeux1122, the claim is that either the Apple 5G modem is ready for the next iPhone SE, or it has been abandoned completely.

Tech_Reve does not specify what other sources are saying this, but recently his or her information has appeared dubious. That includes a claim that Apple expects to ship 10 million of the Vision Pro by 2026, and that iMac will get an OLED screen in 2028.

Apple has previously abandoned projects — seemingly, for instance, including Steve Jobs's idea for an actual television set — but it seems unlikely for the 5G modem. There are technical and even bureaucratic hurdles for any firm designing a 5G modem, but Apple has been designing processors for decades.

More, in 2019 Apple spent $1 billion on buying Intel's entire modem business. That got Apple all of Intel's research, technology, and over 2,000 staff.

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22 Comments

wood1208 2913 comments · 10 Years

About 5 months ago

If China can produce it's own 5G modem than why not Apple ?

mikethemartian 1320 comments · 18 Years

Are there any estimates on how much Apple continues to annually expense on the effort?

Xed 2578 comments · 4 Years

wood1208 said:

If China can produce it's own 5G modem than why not Apple ?

I don't think production is the issue. Rather creating a modem that doesn't violate Qualcomm's patents so that Apple isn't then making their own patens and still still paying Qualcomm for the technology.

mpantone 2033 comments · 18 Years

mikethemartian said:

Are there any estimates on how much Apple continues to annually expense on the effort?

Apple knows exactly how much. But they won't divulge it. Just like they won't divulge how much they spend on autonomous driving research, future wearables, etc. Remember that Apple spent years and years working on the Apple Watch before it was launched.

It's all bundled up in the R&D line item in their cash flow statement. For sure, what they spend on any given initiative is very important to them internally but it's really none of anyone's business outside the company. Well, at least not with current accounting standards. The catchall "R&D expenses" line item is enough for the SEC.

Even guessing the figure might be stupid. We don't know how long Apple has been working on this and whether the expense has changed over time (most likely it has). Also, it is highly likely that Apple is funding R&D on projects that no one here has an inkling about. We don't know what percentage of the R&D budget is going to those.

Hell, Apple's senior management scoffs at third party iPhone COGS estimates. And that's for a finished good.

This whole "we give up the modem project" rumor is very fishy. It shouldn't be a engineering impossibility, it's probably likely due to navigating the Qualcomm patent minefield more than anything else. In the same way, the key NFC contactless chip patents are held by one Dutch company, NXP.

danox 2878 comments · 11 Years

wood1208 said:

If China can produce it's own 5G modem than why not Apple ?

If Google can sell the current Pixel 8 Pro flagship smartphone with a bad modem which phones home to HQ to handle (off load) AI functionally, which by way Apple probably can equal with their own in house modem right now (if Apple was willing to settle for just good enough). This is a topic in another thread about making a cheaper Apple Vision Pro for the masses.

But Apple will usually try to not settle for just good enough if they can. However if Google can roll with a bad Pixel modem over multiple smartphones? And get a free pass from the geeks? :smile: