Apple’s 5G modem will be 2.5 times slower than Qualcomm – it will appear in the iPhone SE and iPhone 17

For several years now, Apple has been trying, through its efforts to develop its own modem, to stop using Qualcomm solutions in its smartphones, but now Bloomberg claims that its appearance in the iPhone SE next spring will mark the beginning of a three-year cycle that will lead to the appearance of proprietary modems not only in the iPhone , but also on Mac computers and Vision Pro augmented reality devices.

Image Source: Apple

As Bloomberg explains, Apple engineers and designers have long complained about the design features of Qualcomm modems and related parts, which take up too much space in the iPhone case. The in-house developed modem, codenamed Sinope, is said to be more integrated with Apple’s other proprietary components and therefore not only takes up less space, but also consumes less power.

The first Apple modem of its own design will be the iPhone SE, which will debut in the spring of 2025. Later, the iPhone 17 family should include the thinnest Apple smartphone ever created, which will also be equipped with a new proprietary modem. The thickness of the smartphone case with the symbol D23 can be reduced by almost 2 mm relative to the iPhone 16 Pro while maintaining a sufficiently capacious battery and a decent set of cameras. In the future, the presence of a modem that allows reducing the thickness of the device body will allow Apple to create folding smartphones or tablets.

Moreover, for the first time, a proprietary modem may appear on Mac computers. To access the Internet, they will no longer rely solely on the Wi-Fi interface or cable connection. However, the appearance of a cellular modem in the Mac line is currently planned for 2026 at the earliest, since by then Apple hopes to create a second generation of the modem, which will be characterized by higher information transfer rates. In the first generation, the Apple modem will not support operation in the millimeter wave. In addition, frequency aggregation will be possible only from four telecom operators, while Qualcomm solutions now allow you to use the resources of six or more at once. Internal tests have shown that Sinope provides information transfer speeds of no higher than 4 Gbps – Qualcomm’s fastest 5G modem currently offers speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

Apple’s own modem should support the simultaneous activity of two SIM cards on one device, and Taiwanese TSMC will produce it at the company’s request. The second generation of Apple modems received the symbol Ganymede; in 2026 it will be included in the iPhone 18 line of smartphones, and a year later it will reach the iPad. In the second generation, the Apple modem will receive support for millimeter wave and frequency aggregation from six to eight operators.

Over time, Apple’s augmented reality devices will also receive a modem of its own design, and we are talking not only about the Vision Pro headset, but also about hypothetical lighter glasses that the company still hopes to develop. Entry-level iPad tablet models will receive Apple’s own modem (first generation) next year, but the 2026 modem will be included in the Pro versions of the iPad and iPhone. The only type of device that, according to Apple’s plan, should not yet receive a modem of its own design is the Apple Watch smartwatch.

By 2027, Apple expects to complete the transition to using its own modems in all product lines. In 2027, Apple’s third-generation modem, designated Prometheus, will appear; it will receive modern functions for working with artificial intelligence and satellite communication networks. In the future, Apple also plans to integrate the modem unit into the central processor. In the meantime, cooperation with Apple allows Qualcomm to receive about 20% of its total revenue from this company.