Next-gen iPhone 15 to have Qualcomm's 5G modems

Chip-maker Qualcomm has made it clear that it will provide 5G modems for the next generation of iPhone 15 series next year.

Qualcomm had earlier planned to provide nearly 20 per cent of the 5G modem parts for iPhone 15 series.

Akash Palkhiwala, Chief Financial Officer at Qlaucomm, said during the company's fiscal Q4 earnings call that for Apple product revenue, "we now expect to have the vast majority of share of 5G modems for the 2023 iPhone launch, up from our previous 20 per cent assumption".

Beyond this, Palkhiwala said there are no changes to the planning assumption, and "we are assuming minimal contribution from Apple product revenues in fiscal '25".

Earlier reports suggested that while Apple is likely to build its own 5G modem for new iPhones, chip-maker Qualcomm is still going to provide its modem for upcoming iPhones at least till 2025.

In October, a note to investors by Haitong International Securities analyst Jeff Pu said that Qualcomm Snapdragon X75 modem will be used in the 2024 iPhones.

All four iPhone 15 models next year are expected to be equipped with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X70 modem.

The 5G modem will be made by TSMC using a 4nm process to introduce power efficiencies, reports MacRumors.

The iPhone 15 using X70 modem could provide download speeds of up to 10Gbps, improved coverage, better signal quality and up to 60 per cent improved power efficiency.

Famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo also predicted that iPhone 15 could continue to use Qualcomm modems.

According to Kuo, due to the high demand for the 6.7-inch iPhone 14 Pro Max, the tech giant may decide to further differentiate its next iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models.

Published on: Thursday, November 03, 2022, 04:25 PM IST