Apple’s big launches for 2024 are nearly complete, so reports are going to pick up regarding the 2025 product lineup. Today, a new report highlights Apple’s plan to use an in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip in next year’s iPhone 17 line.
New Apple chip will handle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and likely 5G
Ming-Chi Kuo writes in a post on X:
Broadcom currently supplies over 300 million Wi-Fi+BT chips (hereafter referred to as Wi-Fi chips) per year to Apple. However, Apple will rapidly reduce its reliance on Broadcom. With new products in 2H25 (e.g., iPhone 17), Apple plans to use its own Wi-Fi chips, which will be made by TSMC’s N7 process and support the latest Wi-Fi 7 spec. Apple expects to move nearly all products to in-house Wi-Fi chips within about three years. This move will reduce costs and enhance Apple’s ecosystem integration advantages.
Kuo has previously reported that Apple is set to launch a new 5G chip in its iPhone 17 Air and iPhone SE 4 next year.
Our own Filipe Espósito has reported that the new iPhone SE chip would not only handle 5G, but also Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. He writes, “Codenamed ‘Centauri,’ the modem is quite ambitious and will also handle Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.”
Kuo’s new post lends supports to the notion of that all-in-one chip design. Curiously though, he highlights the iPhone 17 and even says ‘new products’ in the second half of 2025, indicating multiple products.
Multiple ’new products’ to adopt chip in 2H25
Previously, Kuo has reported that the 5G chip would only be in the new iPhone SE in the first half of 2025, then the iPhone 17 Air in the second half.
This can mean one of two things. Either additional iPhone 17 models are set to get the new Apple-designed chip, or there are non-iPhone products it’s bound for. New Apple Watch or iPad models could be those products, or maybe we’ll even see the first cellular Macs launch.
In any case, after years of R&D work and rumors, Apple’s in-house 5G, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth projects seem finally ready to see the light of day.
Are you interested in getting an Apple-designed connectivity chip? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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