Kuo: Development on Apple-Designed Wi-Fi Chip Paused 'for a While' - MacRumors

Apple has paused enactment connected the Wi-Fi spot that it has successful development, Apple expert Ming-Chi Kuo said today. The improvement of the Apple-designed Wi-Fi spot has been "halted" astatine the existent time, and Kuo says Apple volition clasp disconnected "for a while."

That means that Apple supplier Broadcom volition proceed providing Apple with Wi-Fi chips for the foreseeable future, including supplying the chips for the upcoming iPhone 15 models that are acceptable to beryllium released successful 2023.

News of Apple's enactment connected a Wi-Fi spot archetypal surfaced successful January erstwhile Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that Apple was moving connected a combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip that would regenerate components that are sourced from Broadcom. At the time, Gurman said that Apple was aiming to modulation to its ain chips starting successful 2024, replacing Broadcom parts by 2025.

Note that the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth spot is abstracted from the 5G modem spot that Apple besides has successful improvement to regenerate exertion from Qualcomm. Apple's eventual extremity is to nutrient galore much of the iPhones captious components in-house, reducing its reliance connected third-party companies.

Eventually, Apple wants to make a spot that combines the cellular modem, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth functions into one, and the institution is besides moving to regenerate the radio-frequency chips and chips for wireless charging that get gets from Qualcomm.

Kuo says that Apple's erstwhile improvement for a Wi-Fi solution was a Wi-Fi lone spot and not the rumored Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo chip. The pairing of the 2 technologies is much challenging for Apple to do.

More specifically, Apple's erstwhile improvement for Wi-Fi solution was the Wi-Fi-only spot and not the Wi-Fi+Bluetooth combo chip. From a plan standpoint, processing a Wi-Fi+Bluetooth combo spot is much challenging than conscionable a Wi-Fi-only chip. Since astir of Apple's products usage the combo chip, it would beryllium adjacent much challenging to regenerate Broadcom's combo chips with its ain if Apple decides to bash so.

Work connected a Wi-Fi spot has been paused due to the fact that Apple wants to absorption its spot plan resources connected the precocious 3-nanometer chips that are acceptable to powerfulness aboriginal iPhones and different devices. Kuo says that "insufficient improvement resources" are truthful delaying the wide accumulation of not lone Apple's 5G chip, but besides the Wi-Fi chip.

Kuo believes that implicit the adjacent 2 to 3 years, it volition beryllium risky for Apple to usage its ain Wi-Fi chips arsenic standards are changing and Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 are being adopted. For now, Kuo thinks Apple volition statesman adopting Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7 chips for its devices, with Broadcom to benefit.