Wi-Fi 7 chip from Apple planned for the iPhone 17
After the cellular chip comes Wi-Fi: Apple's Wi-Fi 7 chip is said to be in the iPhone 17. This was actually expected earlier.
WLAN: Apple also wants to get involved in chip technology here soon.
(Image: dpa, Jan Woitas/ZB/dpa)
The rumors that the iPhone 16e already contains Apple's own Bluetooth and/or WLAN chip have apparently not come true. During the presentation of the new entry-level iPhone, Apple did not provide any information on this area, but instead mentioned its first own modem chip C1, among other things, and later invited journalists into its laboratories. Apparently, the iPhone 17 will be the company's first smartphone with an integrated Wi-Fi 7 chip from Apple. This is according to the well-known stock market analyst Jeff Pu from GF Securities in Hong Kong, who focuses on the manufacturer's supply chain. Ming-Chi Kuo from TF international Securities had previously speculated that Apple would install its own Wi-Fi technology in the iPhone 17.
iPhone 16e without Wi-Fi 7
What the iPhone 16e actually contains in terms of Wi-Fi is currently unclear. However, the device does not support the current Wi-Fi 7 standard, instead only Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with 2x2 MIMO. It is conceivable that Apple is using an older chip from its long-standing supplier Broadcom. Bluetooth is supported in the 16e as in the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro up to version 5.3. Apple's basic idea is to combine the modem and WLAN/Bluetooth chip in a system-on-chip (SoC) in future in order to reduce the number of components. However, this was not successful – and the iPhone 17 is now also expected to have separate components.
Videos by heise
According to Pu, Apple will integrate Wi-Fi 7 "made by Apple" in the iPhone 17 – in the standard and "Air" versions, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max –. In the iPhone 16, all models from 2024 – i.e. 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max – already support Wi-Fi 7, although presumably via a Broadcom chip. It is not yet clear what advantages an Apple Wi-Fi module could have. For the company, it means being less dependent on suppliers, it can also link the hardware more closely to its own software and, if necessary, react more quickly to new standards.
Hope for MacBook 5G
It would be very exciting for users if all the features were to be integrated into a single chip, which would then also be built into MacBooks. Ultimately, a combination of wireless modem, WLAN/Bluetooth and CPU and GPU would even be conceivable, even if this poses technical challenges.
Users have been dreaming of a 5G MacOS computer for years, but Apple does not offer it – instead, you have to use an iPhone as a hotspot. With increasing integration, this would be much easier for Apple. Wireless modems have been in the iPad for years.
Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt
Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Preisvergleich (heise Preisvergleich) geladen.
Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen (heise Preisvergleich) übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.
(bsc)
