Kuo: Apple-Designed 5G Modem for iPhones to Debut in 2025

Apple plans to use its own modem chip for iPhones starting in 2025, according to information shared today by supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He previously said the fourth-generation iPhone SE would be Apple's first device with the custom-designed 5G modem, but it's not entirely clear if this is still the plan anymore.

5G Modem Feature Blue
In July, it was reported that mass-production of the fourth-generation iPhone SE was delayed until 2025, so there is still a chance that it could be the first device with Apple's modem, but there have been conflicting rumors about the project.

Apple has reportedly been planning its own modem for over five years, and it acquired the majority of Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019. Based on the 2025 timeframe, iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 models are expected to stick with Qualcomm modems. The switch to an Apple modem could begin with a future iPhone SE and iPhone 17 models, if previously reported development challenges can be overcome.

It's unclear if an Apple-designed 5G modem would have any consumer benefits over Qualcomm modems, but it would reduce Apple's reliance on Qualcomm on the supplier side. In 2017, Apple sued Qualcomm over alleged anticompetitive practices and $1 billion in unpaid royalty rebates. The two companies settled the lawsuit in 2019.

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

iPhone Driver's Licenses: These 17 U.S. States Offer Them or Will Later

Thursday June 19, 2025 11:28 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states and Puerto...
apple watch ultra 2 new black

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Finally Coming After Two-Year Hiatus

Monday June 16, 2025 8:45 am PDT by
Apple will finally deliver the Apple Watch Ultra 3 sometime this year, according to analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities Hong Kong (via @jukanlosreve). The analyst expects both the Apple Watch Series 11 and Apple Watch Ultra 3 to arrive this year (likely alongside the new iPhone 17 lineup, if previous launches are anything to go by), according to his latest product roadmap shared with...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Three Months With These 12 New Features

Saturday June 14, 2025 5:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of June 2025:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X through iPhone 14 Pro have a...
ios 26 call holding

iOS 26 Beta is Hiding a New Ringtone — Here's What It Sounds Like

Thursday June 19, 2025 7:25 pm PDT by
Apple is hiding a new ringtone within iOS 26. The new ringtone is an alternative version of the existing Reflection ringtone, which has been the default ringtone since the iPhone X was released in 2017. It was discovered within the code for the first developer beta of iOS 26, but it remains hidden, so you will not find it in the list of ringtones available in the Settings app for now. It...
iOS 18

Apple Releases iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Wednesday June 18, 2025 10:24 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the first betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a few days after Apple provided the betas to developers. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software Update. When the...
General Spotify Feature

Spotify Preparing to Launch Long-Awaited Lossless Audio Tier on iPhone

Thursday June 19, 2025 1:46 pm PDT by
Spotify appears to be gearing up to launch its long-awaited lossless music tier. Chris Messina (via TechCrunch) and Spicetify (via The Verge) spotted new lossless references within the code for Spotify's desktop app and web player. With assistance from Aaron Perris, MacRumors has confirmed that the latest beta of the Spotify app for the iPhone also contains new lossless-related code....
new iphone lockscreen ios 26

iOS 26: Five Changes Coming to Your iPhone Lock Screen

Tuesday June 17, 2025 8:46 am PDT by
With iOS 26, Apple has made some additions to the iPhone Lock Screen that aim to make it more customizable than ever. Of course, things can always change before the software makes its way to the general iPhone-owning public, but here are five new things iOS 26 can do on the Lock Screen as of the current developer beta. Widgets Top or Bottom In iOS 18, the row of widgets on your Lock...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

Apple Says iOS 26 Won't Be Available on These iPhone Models

Tuesday June 10, 2025 6:58 am PDT by
Apple this week revealed that iOS 26 is compatible with the iPhone 11 series and newer. That means that iOS 18 is the end of the road for the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, which were all released in 2018. However, those devices will continue to receive security updates for at least a few more years. iOS 26 is compatible with the following iPhone models: iPhone 16e iPhone...
Craig Federighi No

John Gruber Reacts to Apple Declining His Interview After His Criticism

Wednesday June 18, 2025 8:10 pm PDT by
Every year between 2015 and 2024, at least one Apple executive agreed to be interviewed by Daring Fireball's John Gruber for a special WWDC episode of his podcast, The Talk Show. Last year, for example, Apple's software engineering chief Craig Federighi, marketing chief Greg Joswiak, and top AI researcher John Giannandrea joined Gruber on stage at the California Theatre in San Jose to discuss...

Top Rated Comments

ersan191 Avatar
23 months ago
I'll let you guys beta test that one, let me know how it goes.
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MrENGLISH Avatar
23 months ago
If anyone needed a real reason to upgrade their iPhone, buying one BEFORE they switch away from Qualcomm in 2025 would be the biggest one in my book.

The Intel modems were a hot mess ?.

Hopefully, Apple will prove us wrong BUT I wouldn't take that chance until the new modems are proven to be reliable over a period of time.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
deconstruct60 Avatar
23 months ago

Hopefully it means better reception
Probably not. Qualcomm's newest modest has AI enhanced abilities to squeeze more out of the RF spectrum.

https://www.macrumors.com/2022/03/01/qualcomm-unveils-new-5g-snapdragon-x70-modem/

Apple hasn't even caught the non-AI enhanced model. Let alone 2 more years for Qualcomm to do more traning to get even better.

The rumbling as to why Apple was to target the iPhone SE4 first was that it was going to skip 5G mmWave band as a feature ( as the current one also does . Apple could get more kinks worked out of 'sub6' 5G before moving on broader spectrum issues. ).


and battery life for the future iPhones.
Wouldn't bet the farm on that either if Qualcomm shifts to a discrete modem that using 2D-3D packaging to cut down on the inter-chip transmission power overhead. ( and it is starting to make less sense to put a modem and the CPU/GPU compute logic on the same die because the fab processes for different usages are going in different directions now. )

More likely best probable outcome for Apple is to get to a modem that is basically a 'tie' ( +/- %3 on most metrics) with Qualcomm. And Apple does the 'eat my own dog food' tie-breaker. (basically just going to avoid Qualcomm's mark-up on prices. ). Apple's supposed mantra is that they will only replace external stuff when they can do a better job. It is much harder to catch folks who aren't slowing down.


Qualcomm isn't being a slouch on the modem front. Every year Apple doesn't catch them there is just more ground to make up. This isn't fumbling , bumbling Intel they are trying to catch. ( the Infineon (where the Intel division Apple picked up) got 'left behind' by Qualcomm too over a decade ago. )
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleFanBoyForever Avatar
23 months ago
Glad it won’t be coming until after the 16. I plan on holding on to my 12PM until then. Qualcomm modems are tried and true.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
23 months ago
It sure will NOT be put into a flagship iPhone in 2025…
Updated SE would be a good pipe cleaner
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SAIRUS Avatar
23 months ago
Analyst sets date long out in the future, and can claim it changed.

I passed the analyst test.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)