Apple is planning to replace the Broadcom chip currently used in iPhones for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth with its own wireless chip in 2025.

As Bloomberg reports(, people familiar with the situation believe Apple is on course to have its own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip ready for use in the 2025 iPhone, which based on the usual release cycle continuing, will be the iPhone 17.

The news will come as a blow to Broadcom, the company that gave us the world's first Wi-Fi 6E chip, as it currently relies on Apple for around 20% of its revenue. Broadcom also supplies Apple with radio frequency and wireless charging chips, so it will continue to be an Apple supplier when, or if, it loses the wireless chip order in 2025.

I say "if" because Apple may struggle to achieve the performance and reliability required for its own chip to make it into the iPhone, just like it has with in-house 5G modem chip development.

Back in 2019, Apple acquired Intel's 5G modem business and started work on its own 5G cellular modem for the iPhone in 2020. We expected that chip to be ready for the iPhone 15 later this year, but development has been hindered by overheating problems which delayed the chip's release until 2024 at the earliest. That means Qualcomm will continue to receive orders for the 5G modem used in iPhones this year.

Eventually, Apple is expected to combine Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular modem functionality into a single chip, which would free up space inside the iPhone and save on manufacturing costs. It's a highly-desirable goal for the company, but one that currently looks like it could take many years to achieve.

By: DocMemory
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