New wireless chips from Apple: What the N1 and C1X should be able to do
News from Apple's silicon production: The company's first modem chip gets an update. It also has its own WLAN and Bluetooth module for the first time.
Apple C1X and N1: Mobile chip optimized, WLAN and Bluetooth combined.
(Image: Apple)
Not just interesting for chip nerds: Apple is taking a further step towards technical autonomy with the iPhone 17 generation, including the iPhone Air. For the first time, all four new models feature Apple's own local radio chip. The so-called N1—the “N” should stand for “Network”—combines three wireless standards and also adds a new Apple mobile chip called C1X in the iPhone Air. However, the company has not yet succeeded in combining both areas and then integrating them into the SoC with the processor, as Apple obviously plans to do in the longer term.
One chip, three wireless standards
The N1 is integrated into the iPhone Air, iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max. According to the information known so far, it combines Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread—the latter being a short-range radio that is primarily used in the smart home sector with Matter and HomeKit. However, ultra-wideband radio (UWB), which is used to locate devices more precisely, is not covered. The second-generation chip (aka U2) required for this is discreetly installed.
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Apple goes one better with Bluetooth—older iPhones were only capable of version 5.3. Bluetooth 6 promises improvements in fully occupied radio spectrums, less latency, and faster sleep and wake-up cycles, among other things, which should save battery power. There are also improvements to music streaming, for example, with spatial audio. Finally, there is optimized support for Bluetooth hearing aids—what exactly this means remains to be seen. Wi-Fi 7 was already available in earlier iPhones. However, the new Apple chip should ensure lower power consumption here. Here too, tests will have to show how well this all works. The N1 replaces chips from providers such as Broadcom.
Upgrade for Apple's mobile modem
Apple's mobile modem has received a minor upgrade. The C1 generation from the iPhone 16e is being replaced by the C1X in the iPhone Air—and only there. This is said to be “up to twice as fast” as the C1, which ultimately only means that existing 5G technology is better utilized. This also has to do with the mobile network provider.
According to reports, the C1X will also be faster than the Qualcomm chips used in the iPhone 16 Pro, which Apple has long wanted to move away from. Energy consumption has also been reduced, by 30 percent according to Apple. No iPhone modem should run more efficiently. The C1X does not support the even faster mmWave-5G. This technology is not currently offered in iPhones in Europe anyway.
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