Kuo Reports Apple iPhone 17 Will Use In-House Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Chip

Highlights

• Apple plans to use in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips for the iPhone 17
• The company aims to reduce dependence on Broadcom.
• The new chips will be made by TSMC’s N7 process and support Wi-Fi 7.

Apple’s 2024 launch cycle is almost over, although rumours and speculations about what to expect from its 2025 lineup never stopped throughout the year. We have been constantly getting reports of what Apple is planning for iPhone 17 and later releases even iPhone 16 launch date was still unknown. Now, with the iPhone 16 out and about, reports are in full swing.

A recent report now suggests that Apple is planning to go for the in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip for the iPhone 17 line. Here’s what we are hearing.

Credible Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently shared an update on X (previously Twitter) about how Apple is working on reducing its dependence on Broadcom, which currently supplies Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips.

Kuo hinted that Apple now plans to use “its own Wi-Fi chips, which will be made by TSMC’s N7 process and support the latest Wi-Fi 7 spec.”

Broadcom currently supplies over 300 million Wi-Fi+BT chips (hereafter referred to as Wi-Fi chips) per year to Apple. However, Apple will rapidly reduce its reliance on Broadcom. With new products in 2H25 (e.g., iPhone 17), Apple plans to use its own Wi-Fi chips, which will be…

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) October 31, 2024

In a subsequent post, Kuo also mentioned that Apple 5G and Wi-Fi chips will be basically two separate chips built using different TSMC processes. This, as per Kuo, means the upcoming iPhone SE4 could have an Apple 5G modem and still incorporate a Broadcom Wi-Fi chip.

Starting from 2H25, both Apple’s 5G and Wi-Fi chips will gradually be used in new products simultaneously. However, since these are two different chips (using different TSMC processes), the early switch-over timelines will differ due to separate production schedules. For example,…

— 郭明錤 (Ming-Chi Kuo) (@mingchikuo) October 31, 2024

What’s interesting about Kuo’s latest update is that even though they highlight the iPhone 17, he mentions ‘new products’, which could very well mean multiple products.

Kuo previously reported that the new Apple-designed 5G chip would first appear in the iPhone SE in the first half of 2025, followed by the iPhone 17 Air in the second half.

This could end in one of two possibilities, either other iPhone 17 models will also receive the new chip or it might also be used in non-iPhone products. It could potentially be integrated into new Apple Watch or iPad models or we might even see the first Macs with cellular capabilities.

Nonetheless, it appears that Apple’s in-house 5G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies are finally close to launching after years of research and development (and plenty of online rumours).

FAQs

Q1. What is Apple planning for the iPhone 17’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips?

Answer. Credible Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently shared an update on X (previously Twitter) about how Apple is working on reducing its dependence on Broadcom. Kuo hinted that Apple now plans to use “its own Wi-Fi chips, which will be made by TSMC’s N7 process and support the latest Wi-Fi 7 spec.”

Q2. When and where could Apple’s in-house 5G chip first appear?

Answer. Kuo previously reported that the new Apple-designed 5G chip would first appear in the iPhone SE in the first half of 2025, followed by the iPhone 17 Air in the second half.

Q3. When is iPhone 17 coming out?

Answer. Apple might release iPhone 17 by the second half of next year.

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