Apple to Use Custom Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Chip in 2025, Plans to Replace Broadcom: Report

The iPhone maker has been working to limit its reliance on other chipmakers.

By Reuters | Updated: 10 January 2023 10:52 IST

Apple accounts for about 20 percent of Broadcom's revenue

Highlights

Apple is looking to swap out Qualcomm's cellular modem chips with its own
Apple is Broadcom's largest customer
Qualcomm has said it believes Apple will phase out its chips

Apple plans to replace a Broadcom chip from its devices with an in-house design in 2025, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The iPhone maker has been working to limit its reliance on other chipmakers, having moved to its own line of chips for recent models of its Mac computers, replacing those from Intel.

Apple plans to replace Broadcom's Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to the Bloomberg News report, which added that Apple is the US chipmaker's largest customer.

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The Cupertino, California-based company accounts for about 20 percent of Broadcom's revenue.

Apple's decision is likely to hit Broadcom revenue by about $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,221 crore) to $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 12,336 crore), said Stacy Rasgon, an analyst with financial services firm AB Bernstein.

He, however, added that Broadcom's radio frequency, or RF, chips were complex to design and manufacture and were unlikely to be replaced in the short term.

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Shares of Broadcom ended 2 percent lower.

Apple and Broadcom did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comments.

Apple is also looking to swap out Qualcomm's cellular modem chips with its own by the end of 2024 or early 2025, according to the report.

Qualcomm has said it believes Apple will phase out its chips. Apple uses Qualcomm's X65 for 5G modem in its iPhone 14 line and is expected to deploy a newer version of the same chip in the iPhone 15 models likely to be released later this year, according to Jefferies' analyst William Yang.

A Qualcomm spokesperson pointed to the company's November statement where it said it expects "minimal contribution from Apple product revenue in fiscal '25."

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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iPhone 14

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Good overall performance
Great camera quality in daylight
iOS ecosystem and ease of use

Bad
Dated design and notch
Very similar to iPhone 13
Relatively slow charging
Expensive

Read detailed Apple iPhone 14 review

Display 6.06-inch

Processor Apple A15 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 128GB, 256GB, 512GB

OS iOS 16

Resolution 1170x2532 pixels

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