Apple to Continue with Qualcomm Modems in Future iPhones: Reports

Apple is using the Qualcomm Snapdragon X55 modem in the new iPhone 12 lineup, a teardown has revealed. The report also says that Apple could be using the recently launched Snapdragon X60 modem in its future iPhones, and continue to partner with Qualcomm for its unreleased Snapdragon X65 and X70 chips. Apple and Qualcomm had settled a long-standing dispute last year and signed a multi-year deal and the new reports indicate that Apple will not be making their own 5G modems anytime soon.

A teardown video comparison of the iPhone 11 with the new iPhone 12 posted by Century Weifeng Technology had confirmed that the iPhone 12 was using the Qualcomm X55 modem. The video has since been pulled from YouTube. The video had also claimed that the iPhone 12 housed a 2,815mAh battery which is 15 percent smaller than the one of the iPhone 11.

A report by Mac Rumors, referencing court filings from the Apple-Qualcomm settlement last year, says that Apple plans to continue the partnership with Qualcomm for its next generations of devices. It says that Apple could launch new devices with the Snapdragon X60 modem between June 2021 and May 2022 — the expected timeframe of the next iPhone series launch — and the Snapdragon X65 and X70 between June 2022 and May 2024.

The iPhone 11 series had come with Intel modems. It was also reported that the iPhone 12 5G could come with Intel modems and that its launch was being delayed because the Intel chips weren’t ready for use. Bloomberg had also reported this to be a driving force behind Apple’s expensive settlement with Qualcomm.

Is iPhone SE the ultimate ‘affordable’ iPhone for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.