Apple's Recent Hires from Broadcom Boost Rumors of In-House Baseband Chip Development

Apple recently hired two high-level baseband hardware engineers who left their longtime positions at Broadcom to join the team at Apple, reports AppleInsider. The discovery of these recent hires follows a report earlier this week that suggests Apple is assembling a team of engineers to develop its own baseband chips for future iPhone models. This baseband hardware controls the radio functions of a device, handling cellular connectivity details such as signal generation, modulation and more.

chang-apple-broadcom-linkedin
The first hire in January 2014 was RF engineer Xiping Wang, who spent over ten years at Broadcom as a Design Engineer and manager of Hardware Development Engineering. Wang was followed by principal engineer and Chip Lead Paul Chang, who joined Apple in February 2014. At Broadcom, Chang was a hardware lead, overseeing the team that developed baseband transceivers for Nokia and Samsung mobile devices.

All together, Apple has assembled at least 30 mid- and senior-level baseband software and hardware engineers from Broadcom and current iPhone baseband vendor Qualcomm over the past three years. Apple is also advertising more than 50 additional openings related to RF chip design, an indication that the build-up is not yet complete.

Apple currently purchases its baseband hardware from Qualcomm, but has recently made acquisitions that would bring more of its chip development in-house. Last year, Apple acquired low-power wireless chip provider Passif Semiconductor and is in talks to acquire Renesas SP Drivers, a division of Renesas Electronics that develops chips for smartphone displays.

These acquisitions are part of a larger move by Apple to control the development and production of its core technologies. This push started with the development of Apple's ARM-based "A" series processor that powers its iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV. The A7 is the most recent processor in the series and is described as providing "desktop class" performance for Apple's mobile devices.

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full iOS 18.5 Release Notes

Tuesday May 6, 2025 2:17 pm PDT by
Apple today seeded the release candidate version of iOS 18.5 to developers and public beta testers, giving us a look at the final version of the update that will be provided to the public next week. With the release candidate, Apple provided release notes, so we have a more complete look at the new features that are included in the update, including those that weren't found during the beta...
siri glow

iPhone Users Now Able to Submit Claims in $95 Million Siri Spying Lawsuit

Wednesday May 7, 2025 11:40 am PDT by
If you owned a Siri-compatible device and had an accidental Siri activation between September 17, 2014 and December 31, 2024, you could be eligible for a payment from Apple as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. Apple in January agreed to pay $95 million to settle a class action lawsuit involving Siri spying accusations, and a website to distribute the funds has now been set up and...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17: What's New With the Cameras

Friday May 2, 2025 3:52 pm PDT by
We've still got months to go before the new iPhone 17 models come out, but a combination of dummy models and leaks have given us some insight into what we can expect in terms of camera changes. Apple is adding new camera features, and changing the design of the camera bump for some models. You might be skeptical of dummy models, but over the years, they've proven to be a highly accurate...
iOS 18

Apple Says iOS 18.5 Coming Soon, Here is What's New

Monday May 5, 2025 8:19 am PDT by
In its press release for the new Pride Band today, Apple said that iOS 18.5 is "upcoming," following more than a month of beta testing. We expect the iOS 18.5 Release Candidate to be released this week, and this should be the final beta version, barring any last-minute bugs or changes. The software update should then be released to the general public next week. iOS 18.5 is a relatively...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Foldable iPhone Said to Have Two Key Advantages

Monday May 5, 2025 6:41 am PDT by
Apple plans to release its first foldable iPhone next year, according to several reporters and analysts who cover the company. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the foldable iPhone will offer two key advantages over other foldable smartphones. First, he said the foldable iPhone will have a "nearly invisible" crease when unfolded. This means the device's...
Nineth iOS 19 Feature

iOS 19 Beta is a Month Away With These New Features for Your iPhone

Thursday May 8, 2025 7:37 am PDT by
The first iOS 19 beta is just one month away, and there are already many new features and changes that are expected with it. Apple should seed the first iOS 19 beta to developers immediately following the WWDC 2025 keynote, which is scheduled for Monday, June 9. Following beta testing, the update should be released to the general public in September. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature Homescreen

Apple's Foldable iPhone Display Tech May Set New Industry Standard

Thursday May 8, 2025 3:29 am PDT by
Apple's upcoming foldable iPhone will feature a new type of display panel developed by Samsung that has never been used in a foldable product, claims a source with links to Apple's supply chain. According to the account yeux1122 on the Korean Naver blog, the foldable iPhone will use a custom display process for which Apple will hold branding trademark rights, and that meets Apple's stringent ...
AirPods Pro 3 Mock Feature

AirPods Pro 3 Just Months Away – Here's What We Know

Tuesday April 29, 2025 1:30 am PDT by
Despite being more than two years old, Apple's AirPods Pro 2 still dominate the premium wireless‑earbud space, thanks to a potent mix of top‑tier audio, class‑leading noise cancellation, and Apple's habit of delivering major new features through software updates. With AirPods Pro 3 widely expected to arrive in 2025, prospective buyers now face a familiar dilemma: snap up the proven...

Top Rated Comments

chrmjenkins Avatar
145 months ago
I'm curious to see where this will lead. If Apple does go it alone and make their own RF chips, there's a possibility that they might slip back into proprietary (and eventually incompatible) technologies, as they did in the '90s. I don't understand what Apple could bring to the table compared to what Broadcom and Qualcomm are already doing. And I don't see how Apple could do it more cost-effectively. There must be something else they're after that Broadcom and Qualcomm don't or won't offer.

How can they slip into proprietary technologies when they are required to interface with the same networks and operate on the same standards as everyone else?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrmjenkins Avatar
145 months ago
I hope they get the work done in time for the iPhone 6, hoping for better cellular data battery life.

If they're just now hiring, we won't see it for a while. There was a long lead time from the PA Semi acquisition for it to bear fruit.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kiantech Avatar
145 months ago
This will probably hurt jailbreakers as most of the hacks leverage baseband vulnerabilities.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mdridwan47 Avatar
145 months ago
Can't apple make the WiFi iPad to include GPS ? :mad:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
everything-i Avatar
145 months ago
I'm curious to see where this will lead. If Apple does go it alone and make their own RF chips, there's a possibility that they might slip back into proprietary (and eventually incompatible) technologies, as they did in the '90s. I don't understand what Apple could bring to the table compared to what Broadcom and Qualcomm are already doing. And I don't see how Apple could do it more cost-effectively. There must be something else they're after that Broadcom and Qualcomm don't or won't offer.
Going proprietary is unlikely to happen as the network technologies they have to work with are fixed. There is a lot of interesting work going on in the RF field and Apple could come up with something very interesting. After all they already wrong footed the industry with their 64bit A7 so they could conceivably have plans to go in new directions with baseband tech too.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Millah Avatar
145 months ago
I'm curious to see where this will lead. If Apple does go it alone and make their own RF chips, there's a possibility that they might slip back into proprietary (and eventually incompatible) technologies, as they did in the '90s. I don't understand what Apple could bring to the table compared to what Broadcom and Qualcomm are already doing. And I don't see how Apple could do it more cost-effectively. There must be something else they're after that Broadcom and Qualcomm don't or won't offer.

Yes, because Apple deciding to build their own baseband chips MUST mean they're going to also build an entirely proprietary cellular networking technology and build an entirely new network.....

They're just building baseband chips, that will likely operate on the currently existing standards (LTE, HSPA, etc). I don't think we need to worry about that.

This can only result in good things, so long as they actually create something better and more efficient than the rest. And I doubt they would do this unless they were convinced they could. Energy efficiency seems to be one of those top level priorities with Apples hardware teams at the moment. Better solution than just shoving a larger battery inside the phone.

----------

Apple also has a lackluster track record at creating standards. Firewire saw good adoption, but Facetime as a standard fell on its face.

WebKit and OpenCL would disagree with you ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)