Qualcomm

Qualcomm believes its latest X85 5G modem will set a "huge delta" between the performance of high-end Android devices and Apple devices, largely thanks to its AI-powered features. Announced at this year's ongoing Mobile World Conference 2025 in Barcelona, Qualcomm's next-generation X85 modem supports 5G mmWave, 400MHz download bandwidth in the Sub-6GHz spectrum with 1024-QAM modulation for...

Apple plans to move away from Qualcomm modems in the Apple Watch while bolstering its new in-house alternatives, according to The Information's Wayne Ma. Later this year, Apple plans to eliminate the Qualcomm modem used in the Apple Watch Ultra. Rather than using the C1 modem or another custom Apple chip, Apple plans to switch from using Qualcomm units to MediaTek ones. MediaTek is one of...

Apple is likely to sell over 20 million iPhone SE 4 units this year, making it the most popular ‌iPhone‌ SE model ever, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a new post on X, Kuo said that the fourth-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE is expected to see shipments of approximately 12 million in the first half of 2025 and 10 million in the second half of 2025–which is apparently better than previous ‌...

Qualcomm today unveiled the Snapdragon 8 Elite mobile platform, which features a next-generation custom Qualcomm-designed Oryon CPU instead of the semi-custom Kryo Arm-based chips from prior SoCs. According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon 8 Elite features the "world's fastest mobile CPU," outperforming even the A18 Pro chip in the iPhone 16 Pro series. The Oryon CPU is built on a 3-nanometer...

Apple is rumored to have been working on its own 5G modem for iPhones since 2018, and it appears the chip will finally debut next year. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today estimated that shipments of Apple's in-house 5G chip will reach 35-40 million units in 2025, and "grow rapidly" to 90-110 million units in 2026 and 160-180 million units in 2027. Kuo previously said two iPhone ...

Justin Long, the face of Apple's iconic "I'm a Mac" commercials, now stars in a short Qualcomm skit promoting Snapdragon-powered PCs. At the Computex 2024 keynote, Qualcomm unveiled the new skit featuring Long, who is well-known for his role in Apple's "Get a Mac" commercials nearly two decades ago. Long is depicted as being overwhelmed by a barrage of notifications about app compatibility,...

Microsoft will advertise that its upcoming Windows laptops with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite processor are faster than the MacBook Air with Apple's latest M3 chip, according to internal documents obtained by The Verge. "Microsoft is so confident in these new Qualcomm chips that it's planning a number of demos that will show how these processors will be faster than an M3 MacBook Air for CPU...

Apple has extended its modem chip licensing agreement with Qualcomm through March 2027, Qualcomm said today during its first earnings call of 2024. Apple's existing agreement has now been extended for two years, so we can expect to see Qualcomm modems in the next several iPhone generations. Apple has been working on developing its own 5G modem chip in-house for the last several years. The...

Qualcomm's latest cellular modem may be limited to the iPhone 16 Pro models this year, according to technology analyst Jeff Pu. In a research note today with investment firm Haitong International Securities, Pu reiterated his belief that the iPhone 16 Pro models will be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X75 modem. However, he expects the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus to retain the...

Chipmaker Qualcomm has claimed that its new Snapdragon X Elite PC processor is 21% faster than Apple's latest M3 chip in multi-core performance, although questions remain about its thermal profile. Demoing PCs with the new chipset, the San Diego manufacturer told Digital Trends that the Snapdragon X Elite records a multi-core Geekbench score of 15,300, whereas Apple's M3 obtains a score of...

Google, Meta, Qualcomm, Nothing, Lenovo, Opera and several other tech companies have announced a collaborative effort to push for "open digital ecosystems" in what appears to be a pointed move against Apple (via Reuters). The group, calling itself the Coalition for Open Digital Ecosystems (CODE), seeks to encourage more open platforms and systems in Europe. Other members include Motorola,...

Apple is continuing to run into troubles in its attempt to develop a 5G modem to replace Qualcomm's 5G modems in the iPhone and other products, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple in 2019 acquired the majority of Intel's smartphone business and started in on a serious effort to develop its own modem hardware, but the project has suffered multiple setbacks. Apple is still "years away" from ...

Apple's next-generation iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with Qualcomm's latest cellular modem, according to technology analyst Jeff Pu, enabling faster and more power efficient 5G connectivity for the devices. In a research note this week with investment firm Haitong International Securities, Pu said the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with Qualcomm's...

Qualcomm today outlined its plans for its next-generation chips designed for PCs. The Snapdragon X series is set to come out in 2024, and Qualcomm claims that it will mark an "inflection point for the PC industry" thanks to the "next-level performance" brought by the new chips. Snapdragon X chips will use the Qualcomm Oryon CPU, which is built on the chip technology that it got when it...

In the last few years, Apple has spent billions of dollars attempting to develop its own modem chip to replace the Qualcomm modem chips that it uses in iPhones, but a new paywalled Wall Street Journal report suggests Apple's approach to the project has been dogged by unrealistic goals, a poor understanding of the challenges involved, and completely unusable prototypes. Apple's plan to design ...

Apple has extended its agreement to obtain modems from Qualcomm for three more years, in what appears to be a sign that work on the company's own custom 5G modem is taking longer than previously expected, Bloomberg reports. Apple is Qualcomm's biggest client, accounting for almost a quarter of the supplier's revenue. In a statement, Qualcomm said that the deal with Apple covers "smartphone...

Speaking at the MWC 2023 conference today, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said Apple's rumored 5G chip could be ready next year. "We expect that Apple will do their own modem in 2024, but if they need ours they know where to find us," said Amon, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal's Joanna Stern. His comment was shared by tech analyst Carolina Milanesi. Qualcomm is currently the...

Apple wants to start replacing the Qualcomm modem chips that it uses in iPhones as soon as 2024, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Apple has been working on in-house modem chip technology for several years now, with the aim of reducing its reliance on Qualcomm. Apple initially wanted to introduce its own modem chips as early as 2023, but Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in late 2022...

Qualcomm today announced plans to bring satellite-based connectivity to next-generation Android smartphones, giving smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and Google a way to compete with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature that Apple rolled out alongside the iPhone 14 models. Snapdragon Satellite is a two-way satellite-based messaging solution provided through satellite company Iridium....

Apple could be one of the only major device makers in 2023 to adopt the newer and more advanced 3nm process technology, as Qualcomm and MediaTek are unclear on whether the newer process is worth it. According to a report by DigiTimes, Qualcomm and MediaTek, two of the largest chip makers, remain unsure on whether they want to follow in Apple's footsteps and start producing ‌3nm‌ chips in...