Qualcomm will be making a bunch of chips for iPhones next year. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Apple will once again rely on Qualcomm modems for its 2023 iPhones, Qualcomm said on its Q4 2022 earnings call, meaning that weโll be waiting a little while longer for Apple to introduce its long-rumored custom 5G modem.
Nikkei reported in 2021 that Apple was looking to introduce its own 5G modem in partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) in 2023, and Qualcomm had previously assumed that it would account for 20 percent of modem orders of the 2023 iPhones. However, on Wednesdayโs call, Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala said that the company now expects to โhave the vast majority of share of 5G modems for the 2023 iPhone launch.โ
Apple bought โthe majorityโ of Intelโs smartphone modem business three months after its surprise 2019 settlement with Qualcomm, so itโs not exactly a secret that the company is working on its own modems. After the success of its many custom chips for things like iPhones, Macs, and Apple Watches, itโs not surprising that Apple would want to make its own version of one of the most important pieces of a smartphone.
But Appleโs efforts have reportedly run into some snags. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported in June that Qualcomm would be the exclusive supplier of 5G chips for the 2023 iPhones after modem chip development โmay have failed,โ and Bloombergโs Mark Gurman said in July that Appleโs modem prototypes have been overheating โover the past year or so.โ Whatever is going on behind the scenes, it all means that Qualcomm gets to be a big supplier for another set of iPhones, which could be a boon after what might be a rough holiday season this year.
Qualcomm is assuming โminimal contribution from Apple product revenues in fiscal 25,โ Palkhiwala said on Wednesdayโs call, which could point to Appleโs own modems appearing as late as the 2025 iPhones.