Apple Not Expected To Switch To Custom Wi-Fi chips Until 2025, With Supplier Broadcom Said To Be Financially Impacted After A Few Years

wccftech.com:

Apple’s quest to have as much chip control as possible for a wide range of products is not going as the company anticipated. With its custom SoCs, industry watchers believe that the technology giant’s prowess in this area is unmatched, but when it comes to developing custom 5G modems and Wi-Fi chips, Apple is severely lagging behind its suppliers, Broadcom and Qualcomm. However, one report states that the company is expected to unveil its first Wi-Fi chips in 2025, and irrespective of how difficult this challenge has been, Broadcom would be the first to experience a significant financial blow.

Apple is said to have invested heavily in developing custom 5G and Wi-Fi chips, according to DigiTimes, though the exact amount has not been mentioned. Unfortunately, the investment does not appear to be fruitful as the Cupertino firm has encountered ‘certain bottlenecks,’ with some rumors claiming that the company had abandoned development altogether. According to earlier information regarding the in-house 5G modem, the baseband chip was experiencing performance, overheating, and other problems, and the custom Wi-Fi chips were likely in the same boat.

Another challenge that Apple will face is succeeding against players like Qualcomm and Broadcom, who have not only accumulated significant experience in this market but also have patented technologies that could easily be challenged in court if both entities feel that Apple is getting a little too comfortable severing ties with them. There is a possibility that these custom Wi-Fi chips will not arrive in 2025, but assuming that they do, Broadcom will face a financial beatdown. However, reducing dependency on these suppliers might not be easy for the California-based giant.

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