Apple may use in-house Wi-Fi chip for the iPhone 17

Apple's in-house Wi-Fi chip may debut on the iPhone 17 next year. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared on X that Apple plans to use its own Wi-Fi chip in new products from the second half of 2025, starting with the iPhone 17. 

The Wi-Fi chip is said to be manufactured using TSMC's N7 process and will support Wi-Fi 7 connectivity. 

The transition timeframe is in line with DigiTimes' claims that some 2025 iPad models will use an in-house Wi-Fi chip.

Aside from the Wi-Fi chip, Kuo expects Apple to gradually introduce a separate in-house 5G modem in the same period.

Since they are two different chips, the transition period will differ across products due to their production schedules.

The next iPhone SE is rumoured to be the first Apple product to use the 5G modem.

Kuo added that Apple plans to deploy its own Wi-Fi chip across the majority of its products within the next three years. This would reduce its reliance on Broadcom, lower costs, and improve its ecosystem integration. 

Apple currently uses a combined Broadcom component that manages Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.

Bloomberg reported in January 2023 that Apple plans to ditch a key Broadcom component in 2025 and its ultimate aim is to integrate the cellular modem, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth functions into a single component. 

Source: @mingchikuo

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