Apple reportedly renewed its deal with Qualcomm to include the company’s modems in the iPhone for another three years. The move indicates Apple is still struggling to get its custom 5G modem up and running.
The report comes from Bloomberg (via MacRumors) and notes that Qualcomm says the new deal with Apple covers “smartphone launches in 2024, 2025 and 2026.” Previously, Apple’s agreement with Qualcomm was set to expire this year and speculators said the iPhone 15 series would be the last to use Qualcomm modems.
Apple has reportedly worked on its own modems since 2018. It also acquired the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business in 2019. However, reporting revealed Apple has had difficulties with its modem efforts, including battery life and overheating issues.
The Qualcomm deal extension adds credence to those rumours and further suggests Apple is still years away from replacing Qualcomm modems with its own in-house product.
Although the agreement extends to 2026, Apple might begin transitioning away from Qualcomm modems before then. Previous reporting claimed Apple planned to launch a modem in 2025. Coupled with Qualcomm’s expectation of having a 20 percent share of iPhone shipments in 2026, it seems likely Apple will slowly transition to its new modem and keep Qualcomm chips for a time.
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