Apple's C1 wireless modem: the start of a customized platform

From an expert's point of view, it is the biggest news of the iPhone 16e: the C1 modem chip, which Apple presented together with the new smartphone on Wednesday, is still shrouded in mystery several days after it was first mentioned. Apple itself gave the chip, which could significantly reduce Apple's purchase of Qualcomm chips in the future, very little space in the presentation. In the meantime, however, hardware manager Johny Srouji and Apple have revealed a few more details about the chip and the plans beyond that.

Even though Apple is showing the first concrete benefits of its own development with the advertised energy-saving effects and the allegedly longer battery life of the iPhone 16e, according to Srouji, the company's own wireless chip is still in its infancy: "We will continue to improve this technology with each generation so that it becomes a platform for us that is used to really differentiate this technology for our products," he told the US news agency Reuters.

Where Apple sees its advantage

Where exactly Apple wants to differentiate itself remains traditionally unclear. Apple has at least let this much slip: The processor should be able to communicate directly with the wireless modem in the event of network congestion, for example, in order to prioritize data that is considered particularly time-critical. This is to be done in such close coordination that other systems are not capable of.

According to Srouji, he sees an advantage in the fact that Apple can tailor its radio chips to its own needs and does not have to create products aimed at a wide range of potential customers like other radio modem manufacturers: "We're not the commercial manufacturer that wants to compete with Qualcomm and MediaTek and others. I believe we are building something truly differentiating that will benefit our customers."

Elaborate test program

Part of Apple's publicity offensive for the C1 is apparently also inviting media representatives. YouTuber Andru Edwards, for example, visited an Apple test lab in California, where Apple wanted to demonstrate the technical effort the company is making. This is to ensure that the C1 does not fall behind the Qualcomm modem chips previously used in iPhones. Tests with 180 mobile phone providers in 55 countries were necessary. According to Apple, various scenarios and environments are simulated in the laboratory.

A total of almost 20 years of development time is said to have been required to develop the company's own wireless modem. The baseband modem is said to have been built with a 4-nanometer structure width, the transceiver with 7-nanometer technology. The C1 is capable of GPS and can also interact with satellites. However, the ability to use mmWave technology in mobile networks, which is still very sparsely developed, will be missing, at least initially.

(mki)