The first in-house modem from Apple will arrive in 2025 with the next-generation iPhone SE, called “Sinope.” The team has been working on this modem for over five years, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. After its launch, they also have plans to roll out the modem in certain low-end iPad versions.
The modem is sub-6 enabled 5G, however, it does not support mmWave, which Qualcomm’s modems have. In terms of car aggregation, it has four, while Qualcomm’s sell-at-six. It had speed accomplishments in laboratory conditions of up to 4Gbps, making it similar to Apple’s modem level, but compared to the performance standards of Qualcomm, it performed poorly. Apple’s advantage is from cost-cutting from using a single integrated solution with their processors. This translates to power efficiency and improved features for satellite connectivity.
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It will feature an edge-to-edge screen design and accommodate Apple Intelligence in the next iPhone SE, coupled with this modem. Apple’s way of handling dual SIM standby and intelligent SAR limits, unlike the more sophisticated Qualcomm solutions, would be done through its main chip. To top this off, “Carpo,” an Apple-designed RF front-end system, will be housed within TSMC as part of the modem to enhance mobile connectivity.
Apple is preparing to refine its particular modem technology over the next several years. By 2026, it is expected that the second-generation modem will have mmWave 5G capability, will be able to aggregate six carriers for sub-6 bands, and will culminate in the future with eight-carrier aggregation for mmWave.
This new version will be embedded in the iPhone 18 series and consumer premium iPads by 2027. In 2027, Apple hopes to go beyond Qualcomm’s prowess within the capabilities of its third-generation modem to include future satellite network support, as well as AI enhancements for handling networks.
This represents an incremental path envisioned by Apple on the part of the company for the future, which will lead to the tightly knit complex hardware it envisions. Such integrative hardware will not only use the existing Apple ecosystem but will also gradually lessen dependence on other technology providers.