‘Apple wants to release the first iPhone with its own 5G modem in 2022’

Apple would like to release the first iPhones with Apple’s own 5G modem in 2022. A company source tells FastCompany that Apple has set that as a deadline. However, iPhones with a 5G modem from Qualcomm have already been released.

At the same time, FastCompany’s source acknowledges that the 2022 deadline is very ambitious. There would therefore be a good chance that the company will not make it, and that the first 5G phones will be delayed until 2023. The site relies on sources familiar with Apple’s plans. The source says there are certain individuals involved in the project who “don’t quite understand how long it takes to produce a modem.” Apple has never designed its own modem before.

The plans do not mean that Apple will not release its first 5G phone until 2022. This summer, rumors surfaced that Apple will release an iPhone next year that has a 5G modem from Qualcomm on board. The two companies were in a legal dispute for years, but have now settled that. Despite this, Apple plans to produce its own modems in the future. Before that, the company acquired Intel’s smartphone modem division this summer. According to the FastCompany source, Esin Terzioglu heads the division that makes the modems. He previously worked at Qualcomm.

However, according to FastCompany’s sources, a lot still needs to be done before Apple is ready to deploy its own 5G modems. For example, the company still has a lot of testing to do on both the hardware and the network itself. The certification is also likely to take a long time. Apple’s first 5G modem will probably be a separate chip, which will only be integrated into the soc at a later stage.