Apple’s Hardware VP, Johny Srouji, Says ‘We Care About Cellular,’ Burying Rumors Talking About Abandonment Of In-House 5G Modem

wccftech.com:

Apple was recently rumored to have abandoned development work on its in-house 5G modem, which only meant that the Cupertino giant would remain tethered to Qualcomm for years. Fortunately, the company’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji, sat down with a reporter in the latest interview and hinted that Apple is deeply invested in mass producing its cellular modem but did not talk about the obvious developmental roadblocks along the way.

In the latest CNBC interview, where Apple allowed cameras to film its labs that test the newest M3 chipsets for the first time, one segment of the interview places Apple executives Johny Srouji and John Ternus in front of some tough questions wanting to know about the technology giant’s future plans. When asked if Apple wishes to have control over all of its silicon, Srouji responds that it wants to make the best products on the planet, and if sourcing them from a third-party supplier fits their criteria, then they will always stick with that approach.

On the subject of in-house 5G modems, which Apple’s engineers appear to be experiencing immense trouble over, the cracks in the armor are finally visible, showing that developing a custom ‘System on a Chip’ is entirely different from creating your own 5G modems. At the earliest, Apple is expected to ship its first custom solution in late 2025 or early 2026, which is why it recently renewed its 5G modem licensing agreement with Qualcomm.

So far, Apple’s in-house baseband is far from reaching Qualcomm’s 5G modems’ capabilities, with reports of overheating and sub-par performance incessantly witnessed by Apple’s teams. Even if Apple somehow crosses this development barrier, those 5G modems are only expected to be found in