Looks like Apple is facing troubles developing an in-house 5G modem to replace Qualcomm’s, as per the latest report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The launch timeline has been pushed from spring 2025 to late 2025 or early 2026.
Apple has been on a roller coaster ride ever since it announced the development of a 5G modem to replace the Qualcomm Snapdragon X-series of 5G modems. After acquiring Intel’s smartphone business in 2019, the tech giant has been grappling with the development of modem hardware, facing an onslaught of setbacks.
Initially, Apple aimed for a spring 2025 launch for its 5G modems, but as it stands now, this timeline seems to have slipped to the end of 2025 or early 2026, meaning the iPhone 18 series might be the first to debut this technology. There are also murmurs about integrating these 5G modems in a speculated affordable iPhone SE4, though this is shrouded in the usual haze of leaks and rumors.
Developing a modem chip is a mammoth task, and Apple knows it all too well. The company is still in the early stages of this endeavor and, as per industry estimates, Apple is almost three years behind Qualcomm, a market leader in modem and chip technology.
Insider reports shed light on Apple’s struggle with this ambitious project. One version of the modem didn’t support the faster mmWave 5G standard, while another was plagued with issues that disrupted existing features. The Cupertino-based giant is also threading carefully to avoid infringing on Qualcomm’s patents, which was a bone of contention leading to a lawsuit over unfair royalty collection practices. However, a subsequent agreement between Qualcomm and Apple allows the latter to use Qualcomm’s modem chipset until 2026, providing Apple with some breathing room to catch up with its 5G modem development.
With Samsung, MediaTek, Huawei, Qualcomm, and Intel already in the 5G modem fray, Apple is working hard to join this league. But it’s evident that iPhones boasting in-house 5G modems are still a few years down the line.”