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iPhone 18 Pro Could Use Qualcomm Modem in the US and C2 Elsewhere
MacRumors • • technology
Key Points:
- Stolen data from Apple partner Tata Electronics suggests the iPhone 18 Pro will use different modem chips by market, with U.S. models retaining Qualcomm hardware for mmWave 5G support, while international models will use Apple's in-house C2 modem.
- The C2 modem, succeeding the C1 and C1X, reportedly lacks mmWave capability, meaning U.S. users may experience worse battery life due to Qualcomm's less power-efficient components used to support mmWave networks.
- Analyst John Gruber argues that mmWave 5G offers little practical speed benefit over LTE or standard 5G for users, and that Apple's decision is driven more by U.S. carriers' investments in mmWave infrastructure than by user experience.
- This split modem deployment marks a significant step in Apple's effort to reduce reliance on Qualcomm, though it falls short of a full transition to in-house modems for all markets.
- The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, along with the first foldable iPhone, are expected to launch in the fall.
