Apple is Working on Refreshed C1 Modem for mmWave 5G Support

Reported by Tanay Singh Thakur March 7th, 2025 at 04:35 pm

In a social media post, Kuo said that the goal for Apple with the refreshed C1 modem is to improve power consumption and transmission support. The addition of mmWave 5G support is not a major challenge for the company.

Highlights

Apple, a technology giant, is working on the refreshed C1 modem.
The C1 modem is the company's first 5G modem introduced with the iPhone 16e globally.
Apple was working on this modem for several years and while the C1 modem is currently only in the lower end iPhone 16e, it is expected to power all the future iPhones.

apple is working on refereshed c1 modem

Apple, a technology giant, is working on the refreshed C1 modem. The C1 modem is the company's first 5G modem introduced with the iPhone 16e globally. Apple was working on this modem for several years and while the C1 modem is currently only in the lower end iPhone 16e, it is expected to power all the future iPhones. Apple is reportedly working on a refreshed version of the C1 modem which will also come with mmWave 5G support. The development was shared by Ming-Chi Kuo, a securities analyst at TF International.

In a social media post, Kuo said that the goal for Apple with the refreshed C1 modem is to improve power consumption and transmission support. The addition of mmWave 5G support is not a major challenge for the company. The challenge lies in ensure that mmWave network connection doesn't conusme a lot of power and delivers a stable connection.

Apple's C1 modem process technology:
- Baseband: 4/5nm (both technologies are similar)
- Low-frequency/Sub-6 TRx (Transceivers): 7nm
- Intermediate Frequency (IF) TRx: 7nm
- PMIC: 55nm
The C1 refreshed version is under development for mass production next year, aiming to improve…
— ??? (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) March 6, 2025

Kuo said that Apple is unlikely going to shift to a 3nm process for the baseband chip as the return on investment is not that high on it. The company is very likely going to continue with the 4/5nm basedband chips and would just focus on improve power efficiency and achieving stable performance with mmWave.

At present, the flagship iPhones carry a modem from Qualcomm. In the future, Apple wants it to be an in-house chip. This will increase the quality control over the product for the company. Apple will also be able to ensure that it relies less on other companies for its components supply. At present, the iPhone 16e is the only iPhone that features an in-house modem from Apple. With the iPhone 17 series, it will be interesting to see which route Apple decides to go with respect to the inclusion of Qualcomm's modem or its own C1 chip.