Apple has spent billions over the past few years trying to develop its own modem chips to replace the Qualcomm ones used in iPhones, but a new paid report from the Wall Street Journal shows that Apple's approach to the project has been hampered by unrealistic goals and a lack of understanding of the challenges involved, resulting in completely unusable prototypes.
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Apple's plan to design its own in-house modem has prompted it to hire thousands of engineers: Apple acquired a majority stake in Intel's smartphone modem business in 2019 and has added Intel engineers and other engineers hired from Qualcomm to the project team. Company executives have set a goal of having the modem chip ready by the fall of 2023.
The modem chip project was codenamed "Sinope" after the nymph who defeated Zeus in Greek mythology. However, "many wireless experts on the project quickly discovered that achieving this goal was impossible."
Former company engineers and executives familiar with the project told WSJ that the obstacles to completing the chip are "largely of Apple's own making." The team involved in the project "had been slowed by technical difficulties, miscommunication and disagreements among managers over the wisdom of designing the chips rather than buying them."
Reports say Apple had planned to use its modem chips in new iPhones. But tests late last year found that the chip was too slow, prone to overheating, and the circuit board was so large that it took up half an iPhone, making it unusable.
Teams in the U.S. and abroad operate in silos without a global leader. Some managers discourage engineers from revealing bad news about delays or setbacks, which leads to unrealistic goals and missed deadlines.
"Just because Apple makes the best chip on the planet, it's ridiculous to think that they can also make modems," said former Apple wireless director Jaydeep Ranade, who left Apple in 2018, the year the project began.
Apple is reportedly able to design its own microprocessors for iPhones and iPads, leading the company to believe it can make modem chips. However, the chip is a more challenging job as it transmits and receives wireless data from various types of wireless networks and must meet strict connectivity standards to serve wireless carriers around the world.
Executives reportedly have a better understanding of the challenge after Apple tested its prototype late last year. People familiar with the testing told the Wall Street Journal that the results were not ideal. These chips are "basically three years behind Qualcomm's best modem chips," and using them could potentially make iPhones have slower wireless speeds than competitors.
Apple was forced to settle with Qualcomm and use Qualcomm 5G modem chips in its latest lineup of iPhones and iPads. As things stand, 2025 may be the fastest time the technology can finally advance enough for Apple to phase out Qualcomm, the reported sources said.
"These delays show that Apple didn't anticipate the complexity of this effort," Serge Willenegger, a former longtime Qualcomm executive, told the Wall Street Journal. "Cellular communications are an absolute monster." Underscoring the significance of Apple's setback, Apple last week extended its agreement to get modems from Qualcomm by three years.