(RTTNews) – Tech giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) is going to partner with one of the biggest chip-makers, Taiwan Semiconductor Company (TSMC ) to build its own 5g modem by 2023.
According to a report by Nikkei Asia, Apple is going to use TSMC’s 4nm process node, which is reported to be used in a 5nm 5g modem before getting commercially used in 4nm 5g modems later.
The move was largely anticipated by the techverse after Apple bought Intel’s modem development division in 2019 for $1 billion. The primary supplier of 5g modems for smart phones at the moment is Qualcomm who got a $4billion settlement from Apple in a modem technology lawsuit earlier this year.
Qualcomm believes that in the next couple of years, Apple will use Qualcomm’s modems in just 20% of its phones.
TSMC is also the manufacturer of the Bionic chipsets used in Apple mobile devices as well as the M1 SOC used in MacBooks. According to the report, Apple will use TSMC’s 4nm chipsets in the iPhones and 3nm SoCs on iPads by 2023.
Apple has been making a shift to produce every component that is used in its devices and it has proven its mettle with the M series silicons which are not just ridiculously faster than any Intel chip it used to borrow, but also more energy efficient and synchronized. Apple would like to draw similar results from its 5g modems.
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