A MacBook capable of directly connecting to 5G cellular wireless networks is one potential result of the modem that Apple intends to introduce in 2025, according to a reliable source of insider information.
The 5G modem will supposedly go first into iOS handsets, including the extra-slim one dubbed the “iPhone 17 Air” that Apple is allegedly preparing to launch next year.
Bring on the 5G MacBook!
Many of you surely yawned where you heard about Apple’s struggles to create its own cellular-wireless modem. Sourcing components is something few get excited about. But it turns out the modem will be important if it finally leads to the long-awaited 5G MacBook.
“With its own modem in the pipeline, Apple is investigating the idea of bringing cellular connectivity to the Mac for the first time,” Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported on Friday.
The iPhone has 5G, of course, and it’s an option for the iPad, too. A very popular option. But MacBook users on the go have been required to either connect to the Internet through their iPhone or depend on sketchy public Wi-Fi.
Gurman’s sources indicate that a cellular-enabled MacBook remains a possibility, not a certainty. “Cellular connections are unlikely to come to the Mac before 2026, when Apple is planning a second-generation modem that includes support for faster speeds,” said his report.
5G modem slims down iPhone 17 Air
One of the reasons Apple wants to switch from using Qualcomm modems to in-house ones is to save money — at least 20% of Qualcomm revenue comes from Apple.
But another is to reduce the size of the modem. Apple “designed the new modem, code-named Sinope, to be more tightly integrated with other in-house components. That means it requires less space and less battery power,” according to Bloomberg.
This smaller chip will go into the iPhone 17 Air, an iOS handset coming next autumn that’s supposedly 2mm thinner than iPhone 16 Pro. But the modem will allegedly debut in the iPhone SE 4, expected in the spring.
A long and winding road
Apple worked years and spent billions to produce its own 5G modem. That includes spending $1 billion to acquire Intel’s smartphone modem business in 2019.
The company continues to use Qualcomm’s because developing its own turned out to be much more difficult than Apple executives had anticipated. The first five years of effort were allegedly an abject failure, but Apple reportedly thinks it has the problem cracked and is ready to introduce the product in 2025.
That said, the initial version won’t be able to match Qualcomm’s best, according to Bloomberg. It’ll lack 5G mmWave support, for example. That’s why the chip is starting out in the low-cost iPhone SE 4th generation.
Only after another generation of improvement might the modem be ready to go into a 5G MacBook. Hence the wait until at least 2026 for a cellular-wireless macOS notebook.
