Apple recently introduced its first in-house 5G modem silicon called the C1 with the iPhone 16e. It is the first fruit of Apple’s acquisition of Intel’s 5G modem manufacturing unit six years ago. The Cupertino tech giant says its C1 is the “most power-efficient modem ever on iPhone” and delivers “fast and reliable 5G connectivity”. The brand has high hopes for its silicon chips and is already developing its next-gen in-house 5G modems. Apple analyst Mark Guruman suggests that Apple’s future 5G modems could surpass Qualcomm’s chips within two generations.
Apple intends to fully replace Qualcomm modems with its in-house silicon chips in two years
According to Gurman, Apple has codenamed its next-gen C2 modem “Ganymede,” and it will debut in the iPhone 18 lineup next year. Apple will utilize the same 5G modem in future iPad models in 2027. As per the analyst, the Apple C2 or whatever the company ends up calling it will be on-par with Qualcomm’s chipsets.
Furthermore, the source claims that “Ganymede” will catch up with the current Qualcomm modems by adding support for mmWave, which is missing on the C1 modem. The next-gen Apple modem could deliver download speeds of 6GB per second, six-carrier aggregation when using Sub-6, and eight-carrier aggregation when using mmWave.
For those unaware, carrier aggregation is like expanding a highway to accommodate more traffic moving at much faster speeds. Essentially, the increased bandwidth speeds up data transferring.
Apple aims to roll out its third-generation 5G modem in 2027
Furthermore, Guruman suggests that Apple will debut the C3 5G modem in 2027, which is in development under the codename “Prometheus”. Apple will introduce it alongside the iPhone 19 lineup, and it could completely surpass Qualcomm 5G chips. “The company hopes to top Qualcomm with that component’s performance and artificial intelligence features by that point. It will also build support for next-generation satellite networks”, Gurman added further.
In addition to its in-house 5G modems for iPhones, Apple is also reportedly considering bringing cellular support to MacBooks as soon as 2026. Also, the company wants to replace Broadcom’s networking chips and could launch its in-house networking chip as soon as this year. Apple plans to debut the chip (codenamed “Proxima”) alongside refreshed versions of the HomePod mini and Apple TV later this year.
The iPhone maker’s networking chip will support the Wi-Fi 6E standard and has a theoretical capability of functioning as a Wi-Fi router. Furthermore, some reports suggest that after Apple completes its modem transition, it will also consider integrating its 5G modes inside the main Apple Silicon chips.
Rather than an Apple A series chip and a separate C1 modem, it would all be one package. Since these are early rumors, we advise our readers to take the information regarding Apple’s in-house networking chips with a grain of salt for now.
