Apple’s 5G baseband is coming soon: Can the iPhone 16 signal be improved?

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The World Mobile Communications Conference MWC 2023 is currently underway. Qualcomm CEO and President Cristiano Amon revealed in an interview with reporter Joanna Stern that Apple is expected to produce self-developed 5G baseband chips in 2024.

“We expect Apple to produce its own modems in 2024, but if they need us (modems), they know where to go to us,” Ammon said.

If Apple’s research and development process goes smoothly, the iPhone 16 series in 2024 will become the first iPhone model equipped with Apple’s self-developed 5G baseband chip, which means that the iPhone 15 series to be released in September will also be the last. iPhone models equipped with Qualcomm 5G baseband.

But it is worth noting that Guo Ming, an industry analyst at Tianfeng International, pointed out in a tweet today that it is still uncertain whether the iPhone 16 series will use Apple’s self-developed 5G baseband chip. Kuo said the decision will depend on whether Apple can overcome technical challenges related to millimeter wave and satellite connectivity.

Qualcomm is currently the exclusive supplier of 5G modems for Apple devices, and Apple has been developing its own 5G baseband chips for a long time. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman reported last month that Apple will phase out Qualcomm’s modems entirely in about three years.

It’s unclear how well Apple’s chips will perform compared to modems supplied by Qualcomm, but moving to an in-house design could reduce Apple’s production costs over time. Qualcomm has previously told investors that it will continue to supply baseband chips to “the vast majority” of iPhones through at least 2023.

What is certain is that all iPhone 15 models are expected to be equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X70 modem,Compared with the previous generation Snapdragon X65, the X70 has further improved cellular network speed and energy efficiency.

Qualcomm also recently announced its latest Snapdragon X75 modem, a generation of chips that still has a chance of appearing in some of Apple’s future devices.

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