According to TF Securities International analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple may equip the iPhone 17 series with its own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip. The company is working on developing additional components for its smartphones, which will help reduce dependence on existing suppliers such as Broadcom. Meanwhile, Apple also intends to integrate its own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, as well as the alleged 5G chip expected to debut in the iPhone SE 4, into other products starting in the second half of 2025.
Apple’s internal Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip may debut on the iPhone 17 series
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Kuo said Apple is looking to “rapidly reduce its reliance on Broadcom” for the more than 300 million chips that power Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity in the company’s devices. For this, according to the analyst, the company will start using its own chips in future products, starting with the iPhone 17 series.
Kuo claims that Apple’s own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip will be built on TSMC’s N7 (7nm) process and will support the latest Wi-Fi 7 communication protocol. While the iPhone 17 series is the successor to the iPhone 16 line, introduced in September is considered the first with an Apple chip, the company will also introduce new devices with its own chip.
This isn’t the only chip of Apple’s own expected to arrive in 2025. The company is reportedly planning to release a fourth-generation iPhone SE model with Apple’s 5G modem, and Kuo says it will have a Broadcom Wi-Fi chip. Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Apple is expected to release new devices, including the likely iPhone 17 series, in the second half of 2025. These phones will feature a new internal Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, but won’t have a new 5G modem.
The analyst also adds that Apple’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, as well as the upcoming 5G chip, are different and manufactured using different TSMC processes, meaning the chip integration timelines could overlap. Kuo says Apple plans to equip almost all of its products with its own chips within the next three years.