Apple Has Started Work On Its Own Cellular Modems

Last year, Apple confirmed that they would be acquiring Intel’s modem business for $1 billion. It’s probably not a stretch to think that the company would be using their acquisition to start making their own cellular modems, and that’s exactly what they’re doing, according to a report from Bloomberg.

The report quotes Apple’s SVP of hardware and technologies Johny Srouji, who told employees at a town hall meeting, “This year, we kicked off the development of our first internal cellular modem which will enable another key strategic transition. Long-term strategic investments like these are a critical part of enabling our products and making sure we have a rich pipeline of innovative technologies for our future.”

Like we said, Apple spending $1 billion to acquire Intel’s modem business obviously means that the company has their own plans. Right now, Apple relies on Qualcomm’s 5G modems and they are expected to do so until at least 2023.

This means that the earliest we’ll be able to see an Apple-made modem would be in late 2023 or 2024. In a way, it’s all coming together and the acquisition makes sense. Apple recently released new Mac computers powered by their ARM-based M1 chipset, so it is possible that in the future, we can look forward to MacBooks that come with cellular connectivity.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Cellphones
Tags: 5G, Intel, iPhone, Qualcomm