From, United State
The iPhone 16e marks a significant milestone as the first Apple product to feature the company’s own C1 modem. So far, the C1 modem has shown solid performance in 5G tests, and if these results continue, we’ll likely see more Apple products moving away from Qualcomm’s 5G modem and shifting towards Apple’s in-house chips for connectivity.
Looking ahead, it seems Apple is already planning for the C2 chip, which will likely debut in the iPhone 18 Pro series. The C2 modem is expected to address a major limitation of the C1 chip—the lack of mmWave support. The current C1 modem is built using a mix of 4-7nm baseband components and a 55nm PMIC for power control, but without mmWave support, Apple is sticking with Qualcomm for mmWave 5G in the upcoming iPhone 17 series.
Apple seems to be taking its time perfecting the C2 modem, and according to analyst Jeff Pu, it will likely be exclusive to the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The base models, including the iPhone 18 and iPhone 18 Plus, may still use the C1 chip or continue with Qualcomm’s modem.
As for confirmation, don’t expect any official word until the iPhone 17 series launch or beyond. But from what’s been reported, it seems like a good possibility. Some rumors also suggest that the C1 chip could evolve in future models with a different implementation, but we won’t know for sure until more details emerge.
In the case of the iPhone 16e, the C1 modem is currently externally mounted, separate from the Apple A18 silicon. In future models, there’s a chance Apple will integrate the network chip directly into the main chip, similar to how Qualcomm does it. While Apple might have freed itself from relying on Qualcomm’s network components, it will likely take a few more years for the company to fully catch up in terms of integration and performance.
