Apple reveals its first custom modem chip

Apple has revealed its first custom-designed modem chip that will help connect iPhones to wireless data networks. This move will make the company less reliant on chips from Qualcomm that also power its Android rivals. The chip will be at the heart of Apple’s iPhone 16e unveiled on Wednesday. Apple executives said that these chips will roll out across its products in the coming years but did not give details on the timing.

Apple Custom Modem Chip

The chips are part of a new collection of components which Apple calls the C1 subsystem. A subsystem houses key components like processors and memory.

The iPhone 16e will feature the same A18 processor chip as the rest of its iPhone 16 lineup. It has the best battery life of any of its 6.1-inch phones thanks to the C1 system, Apple's Kaiann Drance, vice president of iPhone product marketing, told Reuters.

Drance said that the iPhone 16e will also have Apple's latest artificial intelligence features.

Modem chips are hard to make because they must be compatible with hundreds of carriers in scores of countries. Only a handful of companies around the world including Samsung Electronics, MediaTek and Huawei Technologies, have successfully created one.

Qualcomm vs Apple

For years, Apple sourced modems from Qualcomm, the world's biggest supplier of the chips. Qualcomm chips also power Android gadgets and Windows laptops that compete with Apple's devices.