Apple to Partner With TSMC for Production of 5G iPhone Modems Starting in 2023 [Report]

Apple will partner with TSMC for production of its first in-house 5G modem for iPhone starting in 2023, reports Nikkei.

The modem will be produced using TSMC’s 4nm process. Apple also plans to develop its own radio frequency and millimeter wave components, as well as its own power management chip. Currently, these components are supplied by Qualcomm.

For the new 5G iPhone modem, sources said, Apple is using TSMC’s 5-nm chip production to design and test-produce the chip. It will then use the even more-advanced 4-nm technology for mass production, the sources added. Commercialization will not come until 2023, people familiar with the matter said, in part because of the time needed for global carriers to verify and test the new modem chips.

Notably, Qualcomm has already hinted that it will lose much of Apple’s modem business in 2023. During a recent investor day presentation, the company assumed it will supply just 20% of modems for the 2023 iPhone.

Nikkei also reports that Apple will use TSMC’s 4nm tech for the processor in next year’s iPhone and the company’s 3nm process for next year’s iPad. Plans are still being finalized to use the 3nm process for the 2023 iPhone.

More details in the full report linked below…

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