Apple wants to make itself independent of suppliers with more and more in-house development and is therefore planning its own WLAN chips in addition to its own 5G modems. However, their development has been put on hold for the time being, instead Broadcom has been awarded the contract for Wi-Fi 6E in the next iPhone 15. The focus is currently on the M chips.
With the exception of the Mac Pro, Intel is already gone now that only Apple silicon is used in the Mac mini, and Qualcomm is also set to be replaced by its own modems one day. As the well-connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports, Apple will remain loyal to one supplier for the WLAN chips for the time being. Insights into the areas of foundry, equipment, packaging and testing have shown that Apple has stopped developing its own WLAN chips.
Own chip only for WLAN was planned
Accordingly, Apple planned to replace the combo chip for WLAN and Bluetooth previously supplied by Broadcom on one module, at least on the Wi-Fi functionality side, with an in-house development and only to rely on an external component in the Bluetooth area. However, the company's focus has shifted and is currently primarily on the development of new M processors Development
According to Kuo, Apple has shifted most of its integrated circuit (IC) resources towards its own processors in order to make the targeted improvements in terms of to actually achieve performance and efficiency. The successors of the A16 Bionic and M2 (Pro/Max) should again be manufactured by TSMC.
The insufficient development resources have also postponed the development and deployment of proprietary 5G modems, reports Kuo. Apple still has an agreement with Qualcomm for their modems that runs until at least March 31, 2025, which resulted from an agreement in 2019 after a lengthy legal dispute. The deal also includes an option for a two-year extension.
Broadcom can be happy for now
After Apple recently switched from Wi-Fi 6 to the newer standard Wi-Fi 6E for the new MacBook Pro with M2 Pro and M2 Max and for the Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro, this change is also scheduled for late summer pending for the iPhone 15. This is good news for Broadcom, as Wi-Fi 6E and upcoming Wi-Fi 7 chips have a higher ASP (Average Selling Price) than the components of older standards and thus ensure higher sales. Broadcom stock is up nearly 2 percent over the past 24 hours.