Apple’s C1 modem launched this year in the iPhone 16e, but without much company fanfare. But Tim Cook just expressed C1’s strengths in a way that Apple—for good reason—shied away from previously.
C1’s strengths intentionally under-marketed by Apple
When Apple launched C1, it was the culmination of many years of effort. But unlike lots of the company’s other innovations, Apple had to be careful not to tout C1’s benefits too highly.
Why? Because Qualcomm’s competing modem is still in its most popular and expensive iPhones.
Apple currently sells four iPhone models that are more ‘premium’ than the 16e, and they all have Qualcomm modems.
And later this year, the most expensive iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will continue to stick with Qualcomm.
So when it comes to the C1’s arrival, Apple couldn’t exactly come right out and say it had beat Qualcomm’s modem. To do so would have meant dissing the tech in its own, more premium iPhones.
Apple mentioned C1 as part of the iPhone 16e’s announcement press release, but it didn’t get much attention.
The one big claim Apple made was that C1 is “the most power-efficient modem ever on an iPhone.”
It was a safe boast: “most power-efficient” does not equal “best.”
Since release though, we’ve learned the C1 has even more benefits, including outperforming Qualcomm in many real-world benchmarks.
Apple can’t yet shout these claims from the rooftops. But CEO Tim Cook did slip a bit on Apple’s latest earnings call.
Tim Cook admits Apple’s own modems ‘produce better products’
When asked about Apple’s launch of C1 and future modem strategy, here was Cook’s response:
We’re super excited to ship the first one and get it out there, and it’s gone well. We love that we can produce better products from a point of view of really focusing on battery life and other things that customers want. And so, we have started on a journey, is the way I would put it.
Besides Cook’s hints at Apple’s future modem efforts, the most interesting part of his response was the second sentence: “We love that we can produce better products…”
He mentions specifics of battery life gains, plus the vague “and other things that customers want.”
But the start of the sentence says it all: C1 makes Apple’s products better than the modems provided by Qualcomm.
With Apple’s very first in-house modem, it believes it has overtaken the market leader, Qualcomm.
And when its Qualcomm contract expires, and the full iPhone lineup gets an Apple-designed C1 or C2 modem, the company can stop being shy about it.
Do you wish C1 was coming to the full iPhone 17 lineup? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.
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