If everything goes according to Apple’s plans, Qualcomm could lose Apple as a customer for modems by 2027.
Apple’s journey toward replacing Qualcomm’s modems in iPhones is a big leap in its quest for self-reliance. The company has been developing its own modems—codenamed Sinope, Ganymede, and Prometheus—for years. The first of these, Sinope, is expected to debut in the iPhone SE in 2025, though it won’t match Qualcomm’s high-end offerings in speed or performance. Specifically, it will use Sub-6 5G technology, which delivers good coverage but lacks the ultra-fast speeds of mmWave 5G, like the 10 Gbps downloads seen in Qualcomm’s modems in devices like the iPhone 16 Pro.
The iPhone SE itself is also shaping up to be an exciting entry point for this modem. While details about its other features remain under wraps, the SE line typically borrows designs and hardware from previous premium iPhones.
