Is Apple's Self-Developed 5G Modem a "Chicken Leg"? Did the Waiters Really Lose This Time?

Is Apple's Self-Developed 5G Modem a "Chicken Leg"? Did the Waiters Really Lose This Time?Apple's own research and development capabilities are not bad either. From the A-series processors to the M-series chips, and to the W and H series chips for wireless audio devices, they are all very strong

Is Apple's Self-Developed 5G Modem a "Chicken Leg"? Did the Waiters Really Lose This Time?

Apple has always been known for its excellent product design and user experience, attracting a large number of loyal fans. To stimulate the desire for consumers to choose its mobile phone products, the Apple iPhone has truly come up with many tricks, including significantly reducing the prices of its models. Although this tactic has been used for many models and versions, the effect it has brought about each time is very good, and has even stimulated growth in sales.

Apple's own research and development capabilities are not bad either. From the A-series processors to the M-series chips, and to the W and H series chips for wireless audio devices, they are all very strong. In order to solve the signal problems that iPhone users have long faced and achieve high chip uniformity, Apple has been working on self-developed 5G signal modems. Since 2019, Apple has invested heavily in self-developed modem chips, aiming to break free from its reliance on Qualcomm. Through self-developed modem chips, Apple hopes to integrate a variety of wireless network services, including cellular networks, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, on a single chip, thereby improving the overall performance and user experience of the device.

However, self-developed 5G modem chips are not easy. Not only does it involve a large amount of patent and technology accumulation, but it also needs to bypass many existing patent barriers, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty and time cost of research and development. Previously, there have been reports that some versions of the iPhone SE4 and iPhone 17 series will be equipped with Apple's self-developed signal modem to boost their performance, which also made many Apple fans become "waiters," wanting to wait until the new phones are released before making a choice, at least that way they won't have to worry about signal issues during daily use.

However, Bloomberg reporter and well-known leaker Mark Gurman said that Apple's self-developed 5G modem may not be able to solve the iPhone's signal issues. He even said that Apple did not receive any benefits from using its self-developed 5G modem in Apple devices, and that Qualcomm's solution was better, unmatched by most competitors, including Intel. This means that even with the Apple self-developed solution, the iPhone signal will not improve, and the signal problem is not related to Qualcomm.

This news was like a bolt from the blue, directly eliminating the desire to wait for many consumers who were looking forward to the new Apple phones. Although Apple wants to build its own modem, for example, the self-developed solution is more conducive to Apple's publicity, or Apple wants to achieve chip unification, hoping that one chip can bring a variety of wireless functions, including WiFi and Bluetooth. But for consumers, if there is no improvement in signal, even if the new phone has strong configuration parameters, it will be difficult to generate the desire to choose it.

Speaking of new phones, the upgrades to this year's iPhone 16 series are not particularly large, especially the iPhone 16 standard version and Plus version. Leaked information suggests that these two new phones will not only not upgrade to a 120Hz refresh rate, but they will also not adopt a triple-camera system, they will still maintain a 60Hz refresh rate and a dual-camera system. Although there are reports that they will be upgraded to 40W wired fast charging this time, only the iPhone 16 Pro series will be upgraded, while the standard version and Plus version will still maintain the original speed.

Therefore, when there is no improvement in signal and the configuration parameter upgrades are not particularly large, the waiters have naturally lost. But don't be too disappointed. On the one hand, it is still just a leak, and whether the signal situation will improve in the future still needs to wait for the official release of the new phone to understand. On the other hand, the iPhone has been developed for so long, and even if the configuration upgrade is not aggressive, it still has a chance to shake up the market if the price is lowered. In addition, the upgrades to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are still very large, which may also be a key factor in improving sales. As for the iPhone SE4 and iPhone 17 series models, they will not be released until next year, so we can only wait patiently.

In short, in the modem chip market, there is fierce competition from old players like Qualcomm and MediaTek. As a latecomer, Apple needs to make more effort to gain a foothold in this market. So the question is, will you still wait for Apple's self-developed 5G modem? Let's discuss it together.