Apple Started Developing Its Own Cellular Modem This Year

During an Apple town hall meeting yesterday, Johny Srouji, SVP of Hardware Technologies, revealed that the company has started developing its own cellular modem.

“This year, we kicked off the development of our first internal cellular modem which will enable another key strategic transition,” he said. “Long-term strategic investments like these are a critical part of enabling our products and making sure we have a rich pipeline of innovative technologies for our future.”

According to Bloomberg, Srouji said Apple's $1 billion acquisition of Intel's modem business last year helped the company put together a team of hardware and software engineers to build the upcoming chip. He noted that the modem is one of a few wireless chips that Apple designs, including the W-series chips in the Apple Watch and the U1 ultrawide-band chips in the iPhone.


Last year Apple signed a six year licensing agreement with Qualcomm; however, it's possible Apple could have its own chip ready before that agreement expires.

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