After processors, Apple is making its own modem for iPhones; Can ditch Qualcomm in future

However, experts saw this coming as Apple last year bought Intel's smartphone modem business to work on it further. With this move, Apple could at least be less reliant on Qualcomm.

Apple iPhone 12 Product Red (Apple)

Apple has been making some massive strides in the chipset and processor market. While it already used some of its processors in iPhones and MacBooks, this year it made a big leap when it introduced the M1 chipset for Macs. And now, the firm is planning to make its own modem chips for iPhones.

The news comes from a Bloomberg report stating that Apple's head of chipset and processor segment has internally confirmed that a second chip transition is also happening, and is in early stages for now. This will be regarding the cellular modem. That means that Apple may replace Qualcomm's modem in future iPhones.

“This year, we kicked off the development of our first internal cellular modem which will enable another key strategic transition,” said Apple's Senior Vice President of Hardware, Johny Srouji, according to Bloomberg.

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However, experts saw this coming as Apple last year bought Intel's smartphone modem business to work on it further. With this move, Apple could at least be less reliant on Qualcomm.

Having a home-made cellular modem will also mean that the iPhones and iPads featuring it will perform slightly better and offer a better battery life. That's because it will play well with other chipsets in the device made by Apple.

Last year Apple and Qualcomm struck a surprise settlement, wherein Apple agreed to use Qualcomm's modems for its iPhones for next six years. According to the global patent licensing agreement, this deal can also be extended for another two years.

So, it is expected that once the Apple-Qualcomm deal ends, Apple will be moving on to its own modems.