Apple’s radio chip swap likely to take five more years, Broadcom deal suggests

Apple’s next generation of radio chips are expected to debut in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone UltraBut a new deal suggests the company doesn’t expect to complete the switch to its own cellular modems before 2031.

The company has committed to maintaining and expanding its partnership with radio chip maker Broadcom through 2031…

Apple’s first modem chip, known as C1It was introduced in the iPhone 16E last year. This was followed by the C1X that same year, which is used in the iPhone Air, iPhone 17E, and some iPads.

Apple says the C1 chip is more power efficient than third-party chips used in other iPhone models, but they lack support for mmWave 5G. This is the low-range, ultra-high-speed form of 5G, which is more like Wi-Fi. It is usually only available in high-traffic locations, such as airports, transit stations, and stadiums.

This year’s flagship iPhone models (iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max and Ultra) are expected get a new C2 chip to add support for mmWave 5G.

All of these chips are manufactured by TSMC to Apple’s design, while the company still relies on custom versions of third-party radio chips for some of its other products. A new report indicates that this may remain the case for a few more years.

Reuters reports that Apple has agreed to maintain and expand its partnership with Broadcom through 2031.

Broadcom said on Monday it agreed to extend its partnership with Apple through 2031 to develop and supply a range of custom chips, sending the chipmaker’s shares up nearly 4% in premarket trading. Broadcom has long supplied key components to Apple, including custom radio frequency chips used in iPhones, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity chips, and other networking semiconductors.

While this could be interpreted to mean Broadcom is a future supplier of C-series chips, TSMC’s technical leadership means it would be the only company capable of manufacturing next-generation Apple chips. This deal would seem to point to continued use of third-party chips for a few years or the use of older C-series chips for some devices. Either way, a complete switch to more capable C-series chips would seem to be several years away.