Last year, Apple announced that it would extend its modem licensing deal with Qualcomm, allowing them to use Qualcomm’s 5G modems until 2026. Now, Apple has further extended its global patent license agreement with Qualcomm until March 2027. This means that we can expect to see Qualcomm’s 5G modems in several upcoming iPhone generations.
Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon confirmed this news during the company’s first earnings call of 2024, stating that “Qualcomm will continue to license its 5G modems to Apple until March 2027.” He also noted that the Apple-Qualcomm deal had already been extended until 2026 prior to this latest extension.
This development isn’t surprising, as Apple has been working on developing its own 5G modems for several years. There have been rumors indicating that Apple was dissatisfied with its relationship with Qualcomm and was keen to develop its own 5G chips. However, due to delays in Apple’s progress, it had no choice but to continue its strained relationship with Qualcomm for a while longer. It’s worth noting that Apple has not officially commented on the extended license with Qualcomm.
In 2019, Apple acquired Intel’s modem patents for $1 billion and over 2,200 Intel employees to kickstart its in-house modem development. However, this transition has been challenging. The team had to rewrite code, and adding new features risked breaking existing ones. Additionally, Apple was cautious not to infringe on Qualcomm’s patents during its modem development process.
In previous years, there have been reports indicating that Apple is at least three years behind Qualcomm in developing a chip that can match or surpass Qualcomm’s performance.
In 2023, Bloomberg reported that Apple had delayed its 5G modem chips until late 2025 or 2026, with further delays likely. Initially, Apple aimed to have an in-house modem chip ready by 2024, but this did not materialize. Subsequently, Apple aimed to launch the iPhone SE 4 (expected in spring 2025) with its in-house modem, but this goal also seems unlikely to be met. More recently, there have been reports suggesting that Apple has abandoned its 5G modem development plans altogether.
As a result, the upcoming iPhone 16 series is expected to ship with Qualcomm’s 5G modem chips. The iPhone 16 Pro models, in particular, are expected to feature a brand-new X75 modem that promises significant 5G improvements.
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