The “affordable” iPhone 16e has just arrived, introducing Apple’s first-ever in-house 5G modem, codenamed the C1. And the company is expected to continue on this path by moving away from relying on third-party manufacturers, with its own [abc]Wi-Fi[/abc] chip in the iPhone 17 models, which are expected to be released in fall 2025.
Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo££££
This is what Taiwanese analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently claimed on X, corroborating previous rumors: “After Qualcomm (editor’s note: 5G chips), Broadcom’s Wi-Fi chips will also be replaced by Apple’s in-house chips at a faster pace. My latest industry research indicates that all new iPhone 17 models in the second half of 2025 will feature Apple's in-house Wi-Fi chips (as opposed to Apple's C1 modem, which will only be adopted by the iPhone 17 Air). Beyond cost reduction, the move to in-house Wi-Fi chips will improve connectivity between Apple devices."
While the C1 has helped optimize the iPhone 16e's power consumption and battery life, a proprietary Wi-Fi chip could also allow Apple to fine-tune its device to its needs.
