Apple to Use In-House Wi-Fi Chips by 2025

Industry analysts report that Apple plans to implement its own Wi-Fi chips in new products slated for the second half of 2025, including the iPhone 17, thereby reducing its reliance on Broadcom. Currently, Broadcom supplies Apple with over 300 million Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips annually. However, Apple is set to swiftly transition to its in-house solutions.

The upcoming iPhone 17 is expected to feature Apple-designed Wi-Fi chips manufactured using TSMC's 7nm process technology, supporting the latest Wi-Fi 7 specifications. Over the next three years, Apple aims to transition nearly all its products to these proprietary Wi-Fi chips.

Wi-Fi 7 technology enables simultaneous data transmission across 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands, facilitating faster speeds, lower latency, and more reliable connections. When using compatible routers, Wi-Fi 7 can achieve peak speeds exceeding 40 Gbps, representing a fourfold increase over Wi-Fi 6E.

Apple's current devices utilize Broadcom's Wi-Fi chips, but the two companies have been embroiled in a patent dispute with the California Institute of Technology from 2016 to 2023. Analysts suggest that the iPhone 17 Pro will feature the newly designed Wi-Fi 7 chip, with plans to expand its use across the iPhone 18 lineup in the following year.

This move aligns with Apple's long-term strategy to eliminate reliance on third-party suppliers. Reports indicate that Apple is also working to replace Qualcomm's 5G modem chips with its designs, with expectations to introduce its own 5G modem starting with the next-generation iPhone SE 4 and the rumored ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air.