Apple is working on custom 5G modems for iPhones and could ditch Qualcomm by 2023

May 13,2021
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Apple is reportedly working on its in-house 5G modems which are expected to arrive "at the earliest" by 2023. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had said in an investor's note about Apple's plans to introduce its custom-made 5G chipsets to iPhones by 2023, most probably the iPhone 15.

The Cupertino giant is currently dependent on Qualcomm for its 5G modem supply for the iPhones and is expected to continue until the company finally figures out its diversion. This will also result in a more competitive market as a whole with Qualcomm searching for a new market.

"We predict that the ‌iPhone‌ will adopt Apple's own design 5G baseband chips in 2023 at the earliest. As Android sales in the high-end 5G phone market are sluggish, Qualcomm will be forced to compete for more orders in the low-end market to compensate for Apple's order loss. When the supply constraints improve, MediaTek and Qualcomm will have less bargaining power over brands, resulting in significantly higher competitive pressure in the mid to low-end market," Kuo said in the investor note.

The Apple-designed modems are expected to offer faster speeds, improved latency, among other benefits that can equal if not surpass other players in the market, including Qualcomm and MediaTek. But most of all, an in-house modem will give Apple more control over its ecosystem, something which has led to its success in the past.