Apple iPhone SE 4 will have a worse 5G modem than iPhone 16 — but its own

Apple is seeking independence from Qualcomm in the manufacture of devices. According to the insider, the iPhone SE 4 will have a 5G modem of its own design, but with worse performance than the third-party one in the iPhone 16.

According to an insight published by the South Korean website Donga, Apple is expected to present its own communication chip, which the company has been working on since 2018. The new iPhone SE4 «inevitably» will receive this modem.

Initially, Apple wanted to equip with a new chip iPhone 14, and later — iPhone 15. But in the end, Apple and Qualcomm extended the contract until 2026. At the same time, Apple announced a gradual improvement of its own modems, which apparently have not reached the level of the Qualcomm X71 model. Apple’s proprietary modem does not have a millimeter wave (mmWave) component, which is used for the fastest 5G connection. Therefore, it will inevitably have lower performance than Qualcomm’s counterparts in regions where mmWave is supported.

Despite the inferior performance, Apple expects to save a lot of money with its own modem. It is known that the company’s own processor production saves $2.5 billion annually. The in-house developed chip is also expected to improve the iPhone SE 4’s battery efficiency and overall performance, as it was created with the optimal operation of the entire system in mind.

Apple iPhone SE 4 to be released on February 19. According to rumors, it will have an OLED display, A18 processor, Apple Intelligence AI, and an updated design. Among the compromise solutions are a camera with only one lens without an island at the bottom, notch in the upper part instead of Dynamic Island and the same new modem.