Apple Engineering Leader Handling 5G Efforts Leaves Company

Rubén Caballero, a hardware engineering executive at Apple who worked with suppliers on modem hardware, recently left the company, reports The Information.

Caballero's departure comes just after Apple settled its lawsuit with Qualcomm and inked a deal that will see Qualcomm supplying chips for future Apple devices, including the 5G chips Apple will need for its 2020 iPhones.

qualcommx55
Caballero joined Apple back in 2005, and his name has been included on hundreds of Apple patents related to wireless technologies. Caballero is a well-known part of Apple's antenna engineering group, gaining public recognition following the "Antennagate" situation that impacted the iPhone 4.

A person familiar with Caballero's work at Apple told The Information that he had been responsible for "leading Apple's charge into 5G." Caballero's email address is no longer valid, his phone number is no longer active, and he does not appear in Apple's internal directory.

There is no word on why Caballero left the company, but Apple has been restructuring some of its chip teams. Apple's modem engineering efforts were put under chipmaking chief Johny Srouji back in February. Caballero and Apple both declined to comment on his departure.

Apple is planning to release its first 5G iPhone in 2020 and while the launch of the device is still more than a year away, Apple is already working on the future ‌iPhone‌ and ironing out technical details.

Apple will use Qualcomm chips for its first 5G iPhones, and may also be planning to source some chips from Samsung. In the future, Apple is planning to use its own custom-designed modem chips, but Apple-designed modems won't be ready for "another few years."

Popular Stories

Verizon New

Verizon is Down: iPhones Show 'SOS' Mode Due to Network Outage [Resolved]

Wednesday January 14, 2026 10:18 am PST by
Verizon is experiencing a major outage across the U.S. today, with hundreds of thousands of customers reporting issues with the network on the website Downdetector. There are also complaints across Reddit and other social media platforms. iPhone users and others with Verizon service are generally unable to make phone calls, send text messages, or use data over 5G or LTE due to the outage....
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

New Leak Reveals iPhone 18 Pro Display Sizes, Under-Screen Face ID, and More

Wednesday January 14, 2026 7:09 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around eight months away, a leaker has shared some alleged details about the devices. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo this week, the account Digital Chat Station said the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will have the same 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes as the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Consistent with previous...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Thursday January 15, 2026 10:56 am PST by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another eight months, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we have recapped 12 features rumored for the iPhone 18 Pro models, as of January 2026: The same overall design is expected, with 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch display sizes, and a "plateau" housing three rear cameras Under-screen Face ID...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, Macs, and More

Thursday January 15, 2026 11:19 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the United States, according to the company's website. Most of the values declined slightly, but some of the Mac values increased. iPhone ...
maxresdefault

Google Gemini-Powered Siri Will Reportedly Have These 7 New Features

Tuesday January 13, 2026 7:52 pm PST by
Apple and Google this week announced that Gemini will help power a more personalized Siri, and The Information has provided more details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. As soon as this spring, the report said the revamped version of Siri will be able to… Answer more factual/world knowledge questions in a conversational manner Tell more stories Provide...

Top Rated Comments

Blackstick Avatar
88 months ago
I try not to read the tea leaves... he's been there 13 years as an executive, I made tens of thousands just with average, retail Mac Genius ESPP... this dude could buy an island with his grants ... if he's in his 50s he has 20-30 good years of health left, I'd use them.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hermes16 Avatar
88 months ago
Is it me or is there quite a few execs and other high talent individuals leaving all at once?

https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/25/apple-industrial-design-team-employee-changes/
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
melgross Avatar
88 months ago
Remember that Apple just hired Intel’s chief of 5G design. Did they do that because Caballero was leaving, or did Caballero leave because they hired that guy?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JPack Avatar
88 months ago
Probably left for Qualcomm to get a bigger paycheck. Some engineers also prefer to work for companies more geared towards pure R&D. Now that Qualcomm has secured income from Apple, they're probably in an even better position to poach engineers.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Baymowe335 Avatar
88 months ago
Laughing at all the people who think the only reason to leave is you're fed up.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ElectricPotato Avatar
88 months ago
I wonder what Qualcomm's secret recipe is?
Pursue modem excellence as if the company depended on it instead of dabbling like a dilettante.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)