Apple Employees Have Reportedly Admitted That Customers Do Not Care Which Company Makes The iPhone’s 5G Modem, And The User Experience Will Not Change

Qualcomm’s 5G modems will continue to be used in Apple’s iPhones until March 2027, but that does not mean that the California-based giant will halt development, though there were whispers that the company had abandoned the project due to incessant problems that could not be overcome. As Apple continues its work on its custom solution, a report states that its employees have admitted that customers do not care which 5G modem is found in which iPhone, but there could be other reasons why the firm is so adamant in mass producing this chip.

Reducing costs and using the custom 5G modem running in the iPhone as a marketing strategy could be one of Apple’s key approaches for not burying the project

Thousands of engineers have invested millions of hours in Apple’s in-house 5G modem development, with the company pouring in billions for a baseband chip that will do little to improve the user experience. In Mark Gurman’s latest ‘Power On’ newsletter, employees admitted that the decision to make a custom solution will not have a positive impact on iPhone sales, as customers do not care what is running in these devices.

Instead, Apple could use the launch as a marketing tactic, eventually revealing to the audience that it produces the most ‘important’ iPhone components in-house. However, there are deeper reasons as to why Apple continues to tread down this path, with one of them being the ludicrous sums of money it pays to Qualcomm. The biggest downside to partnering with the chipset manufacturer is that there is no other 5G modem supplier for Apple, so Qualcomm can raise its price at will, putting more financial burden on the iPhone maker.

“Saving money is one reason for the move. The iPhone maker has argued for years that it pays Qualcomm too much for modems. But Qualcomm has said that Apple will still have to pay it some royalties regardless (the chipmaker believes that Apple won’t be able to avoid infringing its patents).”

Another reason can be that Qualcomm only supplies Apple with a 5G modem that is a standalone part of iPhones, and it needs to be kept separate from the SoC. The trillion-dollar entity’s ‘end-game’ goal could be to combine the chipset, 5G modem, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth adapter in a single package, freeing up valuable and leading to a more energy-efficient solution. Unfortunately, given the myriad of problems Apple is facing with its 5G modem development, such as performance and overheating issues, to name a few, it will likely take years for the company to develop a package that houses all of the aforementioned components.

Also, it is not like Apple will suddenly ditch Qualcomm with the unveiling of its first in-house 5G modem; it will be a gradual process. In short, it will take several years before the partnership between the companies officially dissolves, but Qualcomm likely anticipated this would happen, so it will likely pivot.