TECH ACTUS – The Cupertino-based company is starting to produce custom chips to avoid having to rely on the likes of Broadcom, and it will be ready to deliver next year.
DigiTimes reports that Apple is mass producing Wi-Fi and 5G chips, with custom Wi-Fi chips first appearing in iPads next year. We don’t know in which models they will appear, but since we’ve heard a lot about the use of a custom 5G modem in the iPhone SE 4, which is supposed to be a low-cost model, it’s likely that Apple will open up to cheaper models in a similar way. The current iPad 10 has a Wi-Fi 6 adapter, and it’s not yet known what kind of connectivity silicon Apple will put in the tablet.
That’s why it’s likely that the iPad will support Wi-Fi 6E, but insiders connected to the company’s supply chain have also talked about the possibility that these models will be delayed until 2026, when the iPhone 18 line will be released to the public. The unique Wi-Fi and 5G chip will only give Apple the advantage of having more control over the hardware, so it can make changes that could improve battery life. The other goal could clearly be to have the unique 5G modem, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip in one package.
Apple has faced several hurdles in terms of development, but by taking slow and steady steps, the company has its own 5G modems, and it is likely that this and the Wi-Fi chip will also make it into the iPhone in the future, as tens of millions of these are sold every year, and many people go for the most expensive model (in this case iPhone 16 Pro Max), although this year the iPhone 16 Plus has shown surprisingly good performance so far, given the pre-orders.
All this is not official yet, but what is certain is that in-house production could help Apple make even more profit.
