Apple will be using its own 5G modem chips for its 2024 iPhones, current modem supplier Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon believes.
“We’re making no plans for 2024, my planning assumption is we’re not providing [Apple] a modem in ’24, but it’s their decision to make,” Cristiano Amon told CNBC at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Apple’s most recent iPhone 14 models use Qualcomm modems, but the company has been looking to go solo in the wireless connectivity market for some years.
It bought Intel’s modem business in 2019 and there had been speculation it would begin using in-house parts this year.
In an interview with CNBC’s Karen Tso and Arjun Kharpal, Amon said Qualcomm had told investors back in 2021 that it did not expect to provide modems for the iPhone in 2023, but Apple then decided to continue for another year.
Amon did not confirm whether Apple would pay Qualcomm QTL licenses if it moves to its own modems, but said royalty was “independent from providing a chip.”
MacDailyNews Take: The whole point of Apple’s years-long efforts is to free the company from paying the Qualcomm Technology Licensing extortion.
As we wrote last September, “Someday, hopefully sooner than later, the complete end of the Qualcomm extortionist in Apple products will arrive.”
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I wish Apple would make a dual band GPS chip for all its devices. Navigation needs this upgrade.
Yet another step in Apple owning the whole “widget” as per Steve Jobs desire. With the incredible success of Apple silicon I have no doubt that they will pull this off probably sooner than expected.