Apple plans to overtake Qualcomm with its in-house 5G modems

Apple has been working on a modem for use in its mobile devices for a while now. According to reports, Apple will debut its first in-house 5G modem in the iPhone SE 4 that will arrive in 2025. Now, a report from a reliable source claims that the company has set itself the goal of surpassing the performance of Qualcomm modems in the coming years.

Apple’s first in-house 5G modem will reportedly be in the iPhone SE, iPhone 17 Air and entry-level iPads

The iPhone SE 4 will be the company’s next-gen “cheap iPhone.” The device will finally ditch the old iPhone design of yesterday in favor of a more modern look. Apple will also use the device to launch its first 5G modem on the market. According to reports, the Cupertino giant will also implement the hardware in the iPhone 17 Slim that will arrive next year as a direct replacement for the canceled iPhone 17 Plus.

Apple will not only use the first generation of its 5G modem in iPhones but in tablets too. More specifically, the leaks say that we will see it in charge of mobile connectivity in entry-level iPads soon. The first generation of the 5G modem will not be the best on the market, clearly falling behind Qualcomm in terms of connectivity. The hardware will not support mmWave technology, and it will only support four-carrier aggregation instead of six.

That said, the upcoming iterations will bring some important changes. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will catch up with Qualcomm a little more by releasing a second-generation 5G modem with mmWave support in 2026. The source claims that Apple plans to make its modem good enough to eventually integrate it into the iPhone 18 series in high-end iPads.

Apple expects its modems to surpass Qualcomm’s by 2027

Then, by 2027, Apple aims to surpass Qualcomm’s 5G modems. This modem is codenamed “Prometheus” and could support “next-generation satellite networks.” The company would also integrate artificial intelligence-powered features directly into the modem.

Users of previous iPhone SE models probably won’t notice a worse connectivity experience on the upcoming iPhone SE 4. After all, those devices weren’t compatible with mmWave technology either. Anyway, the energy efficiency of Apple’s modem will be an important factor. That said, Apple’s real test will come in 2026 when its modem is featured in the iPhone 18 series. Qualcomm has a long history in the segment, and matching them could be tough.