Apple turns to TSMC for in-house 5G iPhone modem
For years now, we have seen Apple try to stay away from Qualcomm by producing its own computing components at home. However, one component that still binds Apple to Qualcomm is a big world cellular: modem. While the Apple iPhone uses the company on-chip (SOC) system (or as called Apple, “Chips”), Apple still uses a Qualcomm-made modem on the phone, but it is something that can change in 2023 thanks to a new team-up with a new team with Taiwan semiconductor manufacturing company (TSMC).
Apple looks to TSMC for a 5G modem
We already know that Apple wants to stay away from Qualcomm and make a modem at home for months now. We don’t know how Apple plans to produce the modem when it’s ready to make a switch. Today, Nikkei Asia reports that Apple has partnered with TSMC to produce this new 5G modem, which can begin to appear on the iPhone in 2023.
Nikkei Asia studied this information from four unnamed sources with the knowledge of Apple’s plan, which said that Apple would first start designing a modem using the TSMC 5NM process before moving to the 4NM Foundry process for mass production. The idea, it seems, is to integrate this 5G modem (which will include radio frequency and millimeter wave module) with its cellular processor, making cellular cars consisting of in-house components.
Both Apple and TSMC have made on-record public comments about this report, so we have to wait for something more official. However, if Apple wants to make a 5G in-house modem for the phone, TSMC is a logical choice for manufacturing partners, considering that it has made the most of the world processors every year.
Benefits for Apple and maybe even consumers
For Apple, the benefits of knocking TSMC for in-house modem production are quite easy. First, successfully developing its own design modem means that it can stop paying Qualcomm fees for the modem it produces. When you sell as many phones as Apple, these costs can end up being a large stack of money that might want to be returned by Apple.
