Apple developing in-house Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip; could switch to custom 5G modem by 2024

Posted By TheNewsCommenter: From 9to5mac.com: “Apple developing in-house Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chip; could switch to custom 5G modem by 2024”. Below is an excerpt from the article.

Apple has been working on developing its own modem for several years, looking to reduce its reliance on Qualcomm. A new report from Bloomberg today says that this switchover could begin as soon as 2024, while also adding that Apple is developing its own WiFi and Bluetooth chip as well. This would allow it to also ditch Broadcom in addition to Qualcomm.

Apple and Qualcomm were engaged in a nasty legal battle over licensing, patent, and royalty disagreements related to modem chips. While the lawsuits were settled at the last minute, Apple has made it clear that its focus is on developing its own modem technology for future iPhone and iPad devices.

To boost these efforts, Apple completed an acquisition of Intel’s modem business in 2019. This gave the company access to engineering talent and a wide collection of standard-essential patents related to cellular technology. Apple will still have to license some patents from Qualcomm and Ericsson, though, even when it switches to in-house modems.

The new in-house modem from Apple was slated for a release as soon as this year, but Bloomberg says that “development snags” have pushed this back to late 2024 or early 2025.

As part of the shift, Apple also aims to ready its first cellular modem chip by the end of 2024 or early 2025, letting it swap out electronics from Qualcomm Inc., said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. Apple had been previously expected to replace the Qualcomm part as soon as this year, but development snags have pushed back the timeline.

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